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05.05.2000 Entry into agreementVisma ASA's wholly owned subsidiary Visma Marine ASA today signed an agreement with Unitor ASA and the UMOE Group, together with key individuals, to establish a joint venture - e4MARINE.com - which will commercialize an e-commerce portal service for the maritime industry. Visma Marine ASA will have a 20.5% holding, Unitor ASA a 64.5% holding, and the UMOE Group a 10% holding. Key individuals will own 5%. Visma Marine ASA has an active customer base of 6000 vessels, estimated to be a 43% share of the global market for maintenance and procurement systems on board. Unitor ASA, a world leader in sales and logistics, processes and distributes a substantial proportion of the transaction volume in the maritime industry. UMOE is an important player in the shipbuilding sector. As early as the third quarter of 2000, the joint venture company is to supply a "ship-to-supplier" integrated e-commerce service, which is expected to be free of charge for shipping companies. This will be opened up and strengthened by several partners in sales and services to the maritime industry. The companies have already integrated their respective technical solutions, and will commercialize this portal service during the second half of 2000. The operation is independent from the parent companies, and will be positioned and empowered to compete with the existing marine portals. The companies expect the joint venture to become one of the winners in this market, and a driving force in the rapid consolidation of marine portals in the future. Further information will be provided at a conference for analysts and the press immediately after Unitor presents its results tomorrow. For Visma Marine, this agreement, together with those signed earlier with British Telecom (mE-world) and Portsnportals.com/Hutchison Port Holdings (Arena), represents an important step towards positioning the company by creating a value-added network of e-commerce services, which will also strengthen the position of the main products in the global market. For information, please contact: Thomas Falck, Visma Marine ASA, (+47) 23 13 65 00 �ystein Moan, Visma ASA, (+47) 23 13 65 00 |