Stuttgart, 13.02.2009

Trost and KSM agree to merge and create the leading car parts wholesaler in Europe

With effect from April 1st, 2009 and subject to the approval of the respective national competition authorities, the companies TROST and KSM will merge their businesses. The holding and headquarter of all activities, will be named TROST AUTO SERVICE TECHNIK SE (European Public Company) and will be based in Stuttgart, Germany. The TROST family will hold a 60% share and the JOACHIM HERZ FOUNDATION will have a 40% share in the holding company.

Founded in 1904 in Stuttgart, TROST is a traditional company from the region and is one of the leading automotive spare parts wholesalers in the independent German automotive aftermarket. TROST has a network of 69 branches, which operate in southern Germany. Moreover, TROST recently acquired the Meteor Group in 2008 and was thus able to extend its activities into the developing markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

KSM was founded in 1921 and is also renowned as one of the leading automotive spare parts wholesalers in Germany. KSM is based in Winsen, near Hamburg, and has a network of 38 branches operating in northern Germany. KSM also has a presence in both Austria and Slovenia.

This merger will create the leading automotive spare parts wholesaler for the independent aftermarket in Germany and Europe. The new company TROST AUTO SERVICE TECHNIK SE will have annual revenues of 770 million Euro and 4000 employees. With 107 branches in Germany it will be the first and only national automotive spare parts wholesaler that can singlehandedly address the whole of the German market. A further 83 branches in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Ukraine form a strong network outside Germany and provide a platform for growth into the developing markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

The TROST AUTO SERVICE TECHNIK SE Board of Directors will made up of three Managing Directors from both TROST and KSM. They are Joachim Trost, Wolfgang Riegel and Dr. Bertram Feuerbacher from TROST and Joachim Münch, Thankmar Graeger and Bernd Günther from KSM. All Managing Directors will be based in Stuttgart.

The corporate strategy for TROST AUTO SERVICE TECHNIK SE will be based on the combined and complementary strategies from both TROST and KSM and will be developed in line with the current plans of both companies. It is also clear that the differing product and service portfolios of KSM and TROST offer significant potential for effective synergies. The new company will strive for the lead position in all represented markets for both automotive and commercial vehicle spare parts as well as for workshop equipment.

This merger combines the resources of both companies in order to better address the increasingly complex challenges of the independent aftermarket. The increased scale of the merged companies creates an extraordinarily capable organisation, which will be better able to invest in the provision of professional technical, business and communications services for the thousands of garages and retail organisations in Germany and abroad. This merger will further guarantee both the future of our customers and the future of the employees of KSM and TROST.

The Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board
TROST AUTOSERVICE TECHNIK SE
Kesselstrasse 23
70327 Stuttgart
Germany