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Former President of GM Europe Joins SDC for Tatra Acquisition

9 April 1999

Former President of General Motors Europe Joins SDC for Tatra Acquisition

    PALM BEACH, Fla.--April 9, 1999--SDC International Inc. (OTC BB: SDCN) today announced that Richard Donnelly, who retired March 31st as President of General Motors Europe, has joined SDC International's management team as a Strategic Board Advisor. Donnelly is, also, a shareholder of SDC. Donnelly had responsibility for GM's vehicle business in Europe with annual revenues of $25 billion, 80,000 employees producing in 11 countries and selling 1.9 million vehicles annually in 42 countries throughout Western, Central and Eastern Europe. He was Chairman of GM's European Strategy Board and has been a Director of Saab (Sweden), Isuzu (Japan) and of ACEA, the European automobile manufacturers association headquartered in Brussels.
    Donnelly, who has visited the Tatra factory in the Czech Republic, was "very impressed by the product and the skills of the people" in Tatra. Donnelly stated that "the manufacturing structure, business processes and asset utilization all offer tremendous potential for improvement." According to SDC Chairman Ronald Adams and President Milota Srkal, SDC management believes in "bringing the best and most experienced within the industry" to make Tatra a profitable company once again. Tatra is a manufacturer of on/off road trucks having a unique suspension for maximum performance in rough terrain.
    Two weeks ago, SDC announced that the ex-DaimlerChrysler manufacturing "czar," Dennis Pawley, had joined SDC as a shareholder and Strategic Board Advisor. The week prior to that announcement, SDC had announced that the Detroit-based automotive manufacturing and management firm, Harbour and Associates, had become an SDC acquisition partner. Harbour's client list includes such companies as General Motors, Ford, Nissan and Fiat.
    SDC is currently in what it hopes to be the final leg of negotiations with Komercni Banka and Skoda, a.s., both of the Czech Republic, to take over controlling interest and to acquire all bank debt of Tatra, a.s., one of the leading specialty truck manufacturers in Europe. This week, Komercni Bank extended the acquisition schedule by two weeks in order to facilitate the completion of the due diligence process. SDC estimates that its final negotiations should conclude in early May. Founded in 1850 and currently a producer of over 2,000 trucks annually, Tatra's revenues in 1998 were almost US$240 million, with assets exceeding US$190 million. Tatra employs about 6,000 workers.
    SDC International is a publicly-traded U.S.-based company founded to manufacture, finance and globally distribute high-quality industrial and transportation products manufactured in Central and East European countries. Upon the acquisition closing and consolidation of financial statements, SDC would be one of the few Bulletin Board stocks to rapidly qualify for the larger U.S. exchanges.