News

MOSCOW (January 16, 2002) — Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC, a leading producer of juices and dairy products in Russia, announced today that it intends to launch an Initial Public Offering of 10,620,001 American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each representing one share of common stock of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC. The offering is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2002 and will be made to the public in the United States and in private placements in other global markets.

Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC also said it has applied for admission of the ADSs for listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WBD.”

In its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC said it is offering the ADSs to raise new financing and to allow current shareholders to realise some of their holdings.

Registration statements relating to the ADSs and the underlying common stock have been filed with the SEC but have not yet become effective. The ADSs may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statements become effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

The global co-ordinator for the offering is ING Barings Limited, and its affiliate, ING Barings LLC, is the Lead Manager of the offering in the United States. A copy of the preliminary prospectus will become available from the Lead Manager: ING Barings LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019.

Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC is headquartered at 16, Yauzsky Boulevard in Moscow, Russia.

For further enquiries contact:
Wimm-Bill-Dann
Julia Belova, Head of Public Relations
Tel: +7 095 733 9726
Email: belova@wbd.ru

Shared Value Ltd
Marina Boughton, Partner
Tel: +44 207 321 5019
Mobile: +44 7775 99 2437
Email: mboughton@sharedvalue.net

Not for release, publication or distribution in, or into the United States, Canada or Japan

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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