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PRESS RELEASE "SOL GROUP" AND "PALOMBA HOLDINGS": PARTNERSHIP IN THE HOME CARE BUSINESS IN BRASIL "AIRSOL" ENTERS "INSPIRAR" WITH A MAJORITY STAKE THROUGH SHARE CAPITAL INCREASE The SOL Group - operating in the technical and medical gases sectors, along with home care assistance through dedicated companies and "Vivisol" brand - announced to have finalized a partnership with Euro Palomba, founder of the Brasilian Global Care Group.

In particular, the company AIRSOL Ltd., wholly owned by SOL SpA and Vivisol Ltd., acquired a
60% stake of "INSPIRAR Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares SA", through a dedicated share capital increase.
After the capital increase, the 40% stake of INSPIRAR is owned by Palomba Investments

(32%) and Artemio Ayala (8%), co-founder of the company with Euro Palomba.

Euro Palomba, an Italian Brazilian doctor and a Brazilian entrepreneur in the healthcare sector, established Global Care Assistencia Domiciliar in 2000. Global Care has rapidly developed in the areas of home care, medical emergencies and chronic diseases, reaching a turnover of approximately 70 million Reais (about 20 million Euro), with more than 600 employees.

INSPIRAR was established in June 2014 in Sao Paulo by Euro Palomba and Artemio Ayala, a young manager with over ten years of experience in home care business, with the aim to represent a new player in the promising market of home respiratory care in Brazil. Currently, the start-up operates with two agencies in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with a staff of 15 people. After only a year from the establishment, INSPIRAR expects to close fiscal year 2015 with a turnover of about 1 million Euro. Aldo Fumagalli Romario and Marco Annoni, respectively Chairman and Vice Chairman and both Managing Directors of SOL Group, commented: "We are very pleased of this partnership with Euro Palomba, Artemio Ayala, and a such dymanic group as Global Care, which has already established itself as a serious, professional and experienced player in Brazil in a sensitive area such as healthcare, and home care especially. Thanks to Euro Palomba and Artemio Ayala, dynamic and qualified entrepreneurs and managers, and Vivisol's expertise and know-how developed across in Europe in 25 years of activity, we are confident of the winning combination for the rapid growth of INSPIRAR as a new dynamic, innovative and authoritative player in the Brazilian home respiratory care market".

Euro Palomba, Chairman of Palomba Holdings and Global Care Group, said: "I am very pleased that a leading European multinational company has joined our project and decided to share with us this exciting adventure to become a successful player in the large and growing Brazilian home care market. Being among the leading pan European players in the industry, with over 280,000 patients served across Europe, Vivisol will surely bring expertise, best practices and technical support, important aspects for INSPIRAR".

Monza, 22 August 2015
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SOL is an Italian multinational group which operates in Europe, Brazil, Morocco, Turkey and India in two distinct sectors: the production, applied research and marketing of technical, pure and medicinal gases and in respiratory home care. SOL employs more than 3,000 people in 26 countries.

Its parent company, SOL S.p.A has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 1998. Group revenues for the fiscal year ending December 31st 2014 were €636 million. Healthcare- focused biotechnology research represents a new area of focus for the SOL Group.

Contact: SOL S.p.A. Media Investors Marina Riva- Barabino&Partners Marco Filippi m.riva@barabino.it m.filippi@sol.it

+39 02.72.02.35.35 +39 039.23.96.301

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