Oriola Oy, a business division of the Orion Group focusing on pharmaceutical trade as well as healthcare and dental trade has agreed to acquire the whole share capital of Swedish Meteko Instrument AB (Meteko) in order to strengthen its market position in healthcare trade business in Sweden.

Meteko, a company founded in 1968, is marketing and selling healthcare products in Sweden and it has about 10 employees. Meteko made profitable result in 2005 with net sales of SEK 27 million. The value of the agreement will not be published. The agreement will be effected on June 1, 2006.
 
The most important representation of Meteko is the US based Teleflex's product portfolio produced and marketed with Rüsch brand. Oriola represents Rüsch products also in Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The acquisition will strengthen the healthcare trade business of Oriola in Sweden and further deepen the co-operation of Oriola with globally remarkable Teleflex Medical. Other representations of Meteko are Extrudan tubings, Pajunk anesthesia needles, and GKE sterilization indicators. Meteko is located in the southern part of Stockholm. Oriola's hospital supplies marketing operations in Sweden will be integrated to Meteko Instrument AB during summer 2006.  
 
Oriola is part of the new Oriola-KD Corporation which will be founded and listed to Helsinki Stock Exchange in July 2006, when the demerger in the Orion Group will take place. Oriola-KD comprises of the wholesale division of Orion Group, Oriola Oy and Swedish based Kronans Droghandel AB including their subsidiaries. Oriola-KD has two business segments: Pharmaceutical Trade and Healthcare and Dental Trade. In 2005 the invoicing of Pharmaceutical Trade was EUR 2.1 billion and the invoicing of Healthcare and Dental Trade was EUR 267 million.