6 June 2019 – HI Bidco AS’ subsidiary company Melin Medical AS (Melin Medical) and Easybank ASA (Easybank) have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement to develop new and innovative payment solutions for the healthcare industry. The companies' first collaboration project involves transaction management, and invoice purchasing. This solution will ensure that physicians and other healthcare providers receive immediate settlement for their services. Today, healthcare providers must wait until the patient has paid the invoice before receiving the settlement. The new solution will not affect patients, but will result in better liquidity and release resources that healthcare providers instead can spend on patient care. Melin Medical and Easybank will also explore the opportunity to develop other cooperation models within financing. The parties have also entered into a separate investment agreement in which Melin Medical’s parent company HI Bidco AS has obtained an option to purchase up to 9.99% of Easybank’s outstanding shares. This agreement underpins the strategic importance of this partnership for both companies. As part of the agreement, up to 5.00% of Easybank’s shares may be purchased within 9 months at a purchase price of NOK 11 per share. The remaining 4.99% may be exercised within the following 15 months for a price equal to the book value per share. This investment agreement is subject to approval by Easybank’s general assembly. Melin Medical is Norway’s leading provider of efficient solutions for patient administration. The company’s solutions are designed to free healthcare professionals from administrative tasks, thereby allowing them to spend more time on patient care. Through integrations with the leading EHR systems, Melin Medical offers intuitive self-service solutions for patient administration and payment. Melin Medical’s solutions handle more than 50,000 patients every day and is currently in use by more than 75% of Norway’s general practitioners and emergency wards, as well as an increasing number of physiotherapists and dentists. The Melin Group has more than 200 employees across its operations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.