NEWS

On the 1^st of July, 2009 the companies Artman and LPP S.A. will have officially merged. The fusion was based on art.492 § 1 item 1 KSH (Code of Commercial Companies) (merger by a takeover) through transferring all the property of the merged company, Artman S.A. to the overtaking company, LPP S.A.. LPP S.A. will become the biggest clothing chain store in Poland and, thanks to merging with Artman, it will expand its portfolio with new clothing brands (House and Mohito).

On the 1^st of July, 2009 the merger between Artman S.A., with its headquarters in Cracow, and LPP S.A., with its headquarters in Gdansk will be complete. Beginning with this date, LPP S.A. took over the company from Cracow and incorporated all the laws and duties of the company. The end of the merger is simultaneously the end of the process that was begun on the 10^th of April, 2008 when the boards signed the letter of intent on their joining.

During an almost-eighteen-month integration procedure, LPP SA completed numerous consolidation activities aimed at the optimization of the companies' functioning as one structure. As such, Cracow established departments responsible for preparing the production of HOUSE and MOHITO brands (Product Management, Production Planning and Visual Merchandising of House and CT departments) and sections working for the Cracow branch of LPP SA (Administration, Personnel and Payments, Accountancy) in a very limited scope. The distribution center in Cracow will be also realizing the logistic processes for MOHITO brand and maintain the e-shop. The Cracow branch of LPP will be also preparing the architectonic projects of the newly-opened stores of the Company.

The headquarters of LPP S.A. in Gdansk will be responsible for all the other activities of the Company.

The aim of the fusion between LPP S.A. and Artman S.A. is to create one of the biggest enterprises, in this part of Europe to be offering clothing and accessories through its chain of specialized stores. It is also a step to the further expansion and increase in competitiveness of the company in the international market.

The fusion of the leaders of the Polish clothing market also has a number of advantages for their shareholders, employees, and cooperators of the companies. Thanks to the merger, profitability and income increases are expected, and the possibility of building the biggest, strongest textile retail giant in Central and Eastern Europe can be realized.