Two of Switzerland's longest established international
trading houses DKSH and Desco have agreed to
integrate Desco Group's marketing, distribution and
trading operations into DKSH. To this end, DKSH
Group will be acquiring a 100% stake in Desco
Rohstoffe Holding and Desco Asia Pacific Holding. By
doing this DKSH is building up its position as a
leading force in the market expansion services
industry in Asia. In future Desco Group will
concentrate primarily on developing its watchmaking
business Maurice Lacroix. Both companies are
therefore strengthening their core businesses.

Dr. Peter Brunner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Desco von Schulthess Holding AG, made the following
comments: "The partnership with DKSH provides an ideal
succession solution for our family firm. With this deal we have
found the perfect platform for the future development of a
business that Desco has been building since its foundation
in 1889. This step has been made easier for me by the fact
that I have been so impressed by DKSH's success under the
leadership of CEO Dr. Jörg Wolle since Diethelm Keller's Asian
business merged with the SiberHegner Group in 2002. I
am particularly pleased that this transaction also allows
Desco to become a shareholder in DKSH."

DKSH is active in four strategic business units –
Consumer Goods, Healthcare, Specialty Raw Materials
and Technology. For DKSH, the acquisition of Desco's raw
materials operation represents an attractive expansion of
its Specialty Raw Materials Business Unit, which over the
last three years has achieved a 40% increase in
profitability. Within the raw materials sector Desco is an
internationally established niche provider of silk, fine
animal hair products and brushes. It supplies these highvalue
materials to leading players in the luxury goods
industry.

The acquisition of Desco Asia Pacific Holding will
strengthen DKSH's Luxury & Lifestyle operation, which is
part of its Business Unit Consumer Goods. The takeover
allows DKSH to acquire distribution rights in Asia for
Desco's own watch brand Maurice Lacroix, as well as for
other independent blue-chip watch brands like Breitling,
Parmigiani and British Masters. This collaboration is being
reinforced by DKSH taking a financial stake in Maurice
Lacroix Manufacture. This increases DKSH's distribution
portfolio in the luxury watches segment, with the personnel
network increasing by 30%.

Once the transaction is complete, Desco Group will
concentrate on developing its watchmaking company
Maurice Lacroix, as well as on distribution in Europe and
the USA. In recent years Maurice Lacroix has successfully
focused on producing increasingly high-value and
technically more complex timepieces.

This deal between these two stalwarts of Swiss
international trade marks the end of the age of the
traditional trading company. The consolidation process
that has been evident within the industry all over the world
has finally been completed in Switzerland. Over recent
years DKSH has evolved from a trading company into a
highly specialized service provider, transforming the
business model used by the old trading houses to suit the
modern age.

"Today we are the leading provider of market expansion
services,“says Dr. Jörg Wolle, President & CEO of DKSH.
”We offer our clients support in Asian sales markets, help
them to buy highly specialized raw materials and also use
Asia as a production location. We will integrate the
business areas acquired from Desco into our substantially
larger platform and promote their successful development.
The concentration process within the industry in
Switzerland is now complete, but we still believe there are
interesting acquisition opportunities in both Europe and
Asia that will allow us to keep expanding our business."
The parties have agreed not to disclose any information
about the purchase price. The Desco companies should
be integrated into the DKSH Group during the second
quarter of 2008, once the due diligence process has been
completed.

Profile DKSH Group

DKSH is the leading Market Expansion Services Group
with focus on Asia. As the term "Market Expansion
Services" already suggests, DKSH helps other companies
and brands to grow their business in new or existing
markets.

With 365 business locations in 35 countries – 15 of them
in Europe and the Americas – and more than 22,000
specialized staff it is one of the top 20 Swiss companies
ranked by sales and employees. In 2006, DKSH
generated annual gross revenues in excess of CHF 8,100
million.

The company offers any combination of sourcing,
marketing, sales, distribution and after-sales services. It
provides business partners with expertise as well as onthe-
ground logistics based on a comprehensive network of
unique size and depth. Business activities are organized
into four specialized Business Units that mirror DKSH
fields of expertise: Consumer Goods, Healthcare,
Specialty Raw Materials and Technology.

Although DKSH is a Swiss company with headquarters in
Zurich, it is deeply rooted in communities all across Asia
Pacific. This is because the company looks back on a
more than 140 year long tradition of doing business in and
with the region.

Source: Desco von Schulthess AG
www.desco-group.com
Contact:[email protected]

(Please credit europastar.com)