Kirkel – 23 March 2007. Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG has mandated an international bank consortium to arrange a new syndicated line of credit to substitute the existing one. The corresponding agreement was signed with ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Dresdner Kleinwort and WestLB AG on March 22, 2007.

The credit line has a volume of EUR 200 million, a term of five years and can be extended twice by one year each. It replaces the existing EUR 165 million credit line. The new credit line shall serve as an additional financial reserve thereby appreciably extending the scope for the Praktiker Group to draw on liquid funds.

Thomas Ghabel, CFO of Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG, commented: “The new, extended credit line gives us more financial leeway. Moreover, the conditions are distinctly more favorable than those of the old credit line. This is a good sign for us because it shows that Praktiker has clearly improved its standing in the capital markets. Our company has shown a good performance since its going public in November 2005. Moreover, thanks to our trustworthy communication with the capital markets we have established a profile of reliability.“