In 2008, A.S. Création Tapeten AG and OOO Kof Palitra established a Russian joint venture under the name of OOO A.S. & Palitra, Dzershinsk/Russia ("A.S. & Palitra"), in which each of the partners holds 50% of the shares. Under an agreement signed 02 April 2019, A.S. Création Tapeten AG will sell its 50% stake in A.S. & Palitra to the co-shareholder's group of companies. As the conditions in the Russian wallpaper market changed over the past few years, the non-EU Eastern European markets have become far less important export markets for A.S. Création's Group revenues. A.S. & Palitra's rising sales of locally produced wallpapers are not reflected in A.S. Création's Group revenues, as the joint venture is not fully included in the consolidated financial statements of A.S. Création because of the shareholder structure. Given that a change in the shareholder structure of the joint venture or an expanded cooperation do not appear to be feasible in the future, the Managing Board of A.S. Création Tapeten AG has decided, after consultation with Kof Palitra and the latter's majority shareholder, Lins Wallpaper Limited, London/UK ("Lins Wallpaper"), to withdraw from the joint venture. A.S. Création will continue to have a presence in Eastern Europe through the production facility in Minsk taken into operation in 2018 and the distribution company in Moscow. Both companies are wholly owned by the A.S. Création Group. This means that the transaction will have no impact on the published EBIT forecast for the fiscal year 2019, according to which A.S. Création will generate earnings before interest and taxes of between EUR 1 million and EUR 2 million. Consolidated earnings after taxes for the fiscal year 2019, however, will be higher than expected as a result of the transaction and amount to between EUR 10.0 million and EUR 11.0 million. Consolidated earnings after taxes - excl. one-time effects - had previously been expected to come in at between EUR 1.5 million and EUR 2.5 million.