esco - european salt company GmbH & Co. KG, a wholly owned subsidiary of K+S Aktiengesellschaft, takes over the Czech salt processing company Solné Mlýny a.s. (SMO). The closing of the transaction occurred today. esco is acquiring SMO from the Czech trading group EQUUS, which has been undergoing insolvency proceedings since mid-2010. SMO is a major supplier of salt products in the Czech Republic and also operates in other European markets. The purchase price is in the mid-single-digit million euro range.

SMO has been operating the salt processing business in the eastern Czech city of Olomouc since 1921 and currently employs about 70 people. Particularly in the table salt segment, the company has a brand that is well known nationwide and enjoys a high level of recognition, and is established in the market with a wide product range of food grade, industrial and de-icing salts. In a normal year, SMO sells around 100,000 tonnes of its various salt products and has until now been one of esco's customers in the important Czech market.

About esco and K+S

esco - european salt company is responsible for the European salt business within the Salt business segment of the K+S Group. esco has three rock salt mines, two brine plants, and several plants processing evaporated salt in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, and has numerous distribution sites. Its annual production capacity is about 9.7 million tonnes of crystallised salt and salt in brine per year. Further information about esco can be found at www.esco-salt.com.

The K+S Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of standard and speciality fertilizers. In the salt business, K+S is the world's leading producer with sites in Europe as well as North and South America. K+S offers a comprehensive range of goods and services for agriculture, industry, and private consumers, which provides growth opportunities in virtually every sphere of daily life. More than 14,000 people work for the K+S Group worldwide. K+S - the commodity stock represented on the German share index, the DAX - is quoted on all German stock exchanges. More information about K+S can be found at www.k-plus-s.com.