Competition authorities approves Hexagon acquisition

The German competition authorities, Bundeskartellamt, have approved Hexagon's acquisition of Thona Group. Hexagon's consolidation with Thona group will be ef-fective 1 May 2004.

 For further information, please contact:
 Ola Rollén, President and CEO                         	
 Hexagon AB
 Phone: + 46 8 601 26 20

 Håkan Halén, CFO
 Hexagon AB	
 Phone: + 46 8 601 26 20	

Hexagon AB is a multinational engineering group with the long-term ambition of positioning itself as number one or number two within its strategic sectors. The operation is divided into four business areas: Hexagon Automation, Hexagon Engineering, Hexagon Metrology and Hexagon Polymers. The group's targets are to increase earnings per share after tax by at least 15 per cent p.a., and achieve a return on capital employed higher than 15 per cent over the business cycle. Current turnover amounts to more than 7 GSEK p.a.