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With the acquisition of Depsona, Wimm-Bill-Dann has strategically positioned itself as a major fruit juice and concentrate producer in Central Russia. The latest acquisition will give the company full access to locally grown raw materials, thus optimizing overall juice production costs. This, in turn, will give Wimm-Bill-Dann a more competitive edge in the Russian juice market, which is undergoing rapid consolidation.

Built in 1996 by Italian specialists, this state-of-the-art facility has a juice production capacity of 32 million liters per year (currently around 15,000 tons of juice and about 1,500 tons of apple concentrate are produced annually) and employs over 100 people. Depsona has a share of approximately 1.2% of the Russian juice market and a strong consumer base in Central Russia, the Far East and the Black Sea coast. The Depsona brand was named “Brand of the Year” in Russia in 1999.

Dmitry Kolokatov, Head of Wimm-Bill-Dann’s Juice Division, stressed the importance of the latest acquisition: “Wimm-Bill-Dann and Depsona have a long history of working together. The factory is strategically positioned with easy access to large reserves of high-quality local raw materials, which will allow us to reduce our dependence on imported juice concentrates. Depsona is a good fit with our juice business as a whole, and a strong player in key regional markets.”

Depsona ZAO manufactures a wide range of juices, nectars, juice-containing drinks, as well as juice purees and concentrates. All products are currently produced under three brands: Depsona, FructoPak and Limbo. Wimm-Bill-Dann intends to preserve Depsona’s brands and continue to utilize its existing distribution channels. At the same time, the company plans to install additional capacity at Depsona, which would enable it to produce various types of concentrates, new innovative products, as well as work with new packaging formats. The factory will also be used to produce Wimm-Bill-Dann’s national brands and act as a distribution hub for them.

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For further enquiries contact:

Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC
16 Yauzsky Boulevard, Moscow, Russia
Phone: +7 095 733-97-26/9727
Fax: +7 095 733-97-25
web: http://www.wbd.com
E-mail: kagan@wbd.ru

Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Wimm-Bill-Dann, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements to conform them to actual results. We refer you to the documents Wimm-Bill-Dann files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form F-1. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” in our Form F-1, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, acquisition strategy, risks associated with operating in Russia, volatility of stock price, financial risk management, and future growth subject to risks.
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