Prysmian entered into a definitive agreement with Indian Nicco Corporation for a majority stake of a new JV Cable Company.

Prysmian Cables & Systems announces that, further to the Term Sheet signed in July 2007, has now entered into a definitive agreement with Indian Nicco Corporation for the common participation into a new joint venture Company which will acquire all Nicco Corporation's cables activities. Prysmian will be the majority shareholder of the new Company, named Nicco Cables Ltd, with a stake of 60% (Nicco Corporation will own the remaining 40%). Prysmian’s total investment to become the majority shareholder will be equal to some 24 million Euro (subject to adjustment). The transaction also includes the transferring to the new Company of the net debt of Nicco Corporation pertaining to the cables activities (approx. 31 million Euro as of 30/9/2007 ).

The board of the new Company will consist of five directors, three of them appointed by Prysmian. Prysmian will also appoint the Managing Director and will be responsible for the overall management of the new Company’s operations.

With net sales of approximately 56 million Euro in the last twelve months 2006-2007 (as of 30/9/2007) and EBITDA amounting to approximately 9 million Euro , Nicco Corporation's cable division has 2 manufacturing operations, 6 branch offices located in the country’s most important urban areas and approximately 900 employees. Nicco Corporation's cable division is active in the production of a wide range of medium voltage and low voltage power cables and industrial cables for applications in several sectors (OEMs, Windmill, Infrastructure, Mining, Railways, Defense, etc.).

The deal represents a step ahead in Prysmian’s strategy of expansion in fast growing markets. The new Company will benefit from the combination of Prysmian’s global knowledge and technology expertise and Nicco’s business network and knowledge of local market and will be also well positioned to exploit the strong growth trends in India cables market driven by substantial investments in infrastructures.

The deal, subject to the approval/consent of Nicco’s corporate debt lenders and relevant local authorities, is expected to close during the second half of 2008.

Note: Exchange rate Euro/INR = 56.2

Prysmian 
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunication, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales exceeding 5 billion euro in 2006 and a strong position in higher-added value market segments. With its two business, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 35 countries, 54 plants in 21 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and over 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and systems designed to meet clients' specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovative on products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange Blue Chip index.