Vacon to acquire AC drives business of TB Wood's


Vacon Plc, Stock Exchange Release, December 19, 2007 at 8.30 a.m.:

Finland-based AC drives manufacturer Vacon is to acquire the AC
drives business of TB Wood's, which is part of US-based Altra
Holdings Inc. After the acquisition, Vacon will have sales on all
continents, and R&D and production on three continents. The
transaction includes two factories in the United States, one factory
in Italy and one in India, and a sales company in Germany. The
aggregate purchase price will be USD 29.0 million."Strengthening our global market position is a cornerstone of Vacon's
strategy. This acquisition will give a significant boost to Vacon's
growth potential and market position, since the product ranges and
customer bases of the companies complement each other. Specializing
in AC drives for demanding environments, TB Wood's has operations in
the United States, Europe and Asia, and indepth knowhow in AC drives
and applications. We also see synergy benefits to be gained in R&D
and in supplier networks," says Vesa Laisi, President and CEO of
Vacon Plc.

The aggregate purchase price is USD 29.0 million, and Vacon will
finance the acquisition with debt. TB Wood's AC drives business will
be merged into Vacon Group, and TB Wood's personnel who are part of
that business will become Vacon employees. It is planned to
incorporate the acquired business into Vacon's consolidated financial
statements by the end of January 2008 at the latest. The acquisition
is not expected to have a material impact on Vacon Group's earnings
per share in 2008 and 2009. The boards of directors of both companies
have unanimously approved the acquisition, which is subject to
customary closing conditions.

Vacon and TB Wood's have cooperated for more than ten years. TB
Wood's has sold Vacon AC drives under their own brand as part of
their product range, and the company has also been Vacon's authorized
service centre in the United States for many years. TB Wood's brand
will be replaced by the Vacon brand over a transition period of 18
months.

TB Wood's has been operating in the electronics business for about 40
years, and the company has a strong market position in power
transmission products in North America. Power transmission products
include belted drives and engineered couplings. The company is known
as a manufacturer of demanding customer-specific products for OEMs
and end-customers in the United States, Europe and India. TB Wood's
has extensive knowhow in application development and in designing AC
drives for very harsh environments, which will expand Vacon's product
offering. The size of the market for these AC drives is about USD 300
million.

The AC drives business of TB Wood's employs more than 160 people. It
had reported revenues in 2006 of USD 39.2 million and an operating
profit of USD 1.8 million.


Ernst & Young Oy Transaction Advisory Services acts as Vacon's
financial advisor for this transaction.

Vacon in brief:
The Vacon Group (OMX:VAC1V) was founded in 1993 for one purpose only:
to create, develop and provide AC drives worldwide. The company's
ambition is to meet the most demanding needs of customers looking for
the ultimate in performance, ease of use and reliability. Vacon
offers AC drives in the power range of 0.25 kW...5 MW. In 2006, Group
revenues totalled EUR 186.4 million.

Dial-in conference for investors and investment analysts
A dial-in conference in English for investors and investment analysts
will be held on December 19, 2007 at 11.00 a.m. CEO Vesa Laisi,
Executive VP Heikki Hiltunen and CFO Mika Leppänen will participate
in the conference. Lines can be booked ten minutes before the
conference by calling the service number +44 (0)20 7162 0025. The
conference ID code is "Vacon Oyj".

Conference link:
http://wcc.webeventservices.com/view/wl/r.htm?e=99801&s=1&k=E6C6593D988618CCD1E243A10279C12B&cb=genesys

To hear a recording of the conference, available for two working
days, call +44 207 031 4064, ID code 779026.

Conference for the media
A press conference will be held at the Vacon headquarters (address:
Runsorintie 7) in Vaasa, Finland, today on December 19, 2007 at
12.00.

Vacon Group

Further information:

Vesa Laisi, President and CEO, mobile: +358 (0)40 8371 510
Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, mobile +358 (0)40 8371 609
Mika Leppänen, Vice President, Finance & Control, mobile +358 (0)40
8371 235
www.vacon.com

Distribution:
Helsinki Exchanges
Financial Supervision Authority
Main media