BICCGeneral Announces Completion of Second Phase of the

Acquisition of BICC Cables and the Acquisition of Spectran'sInterest in General Photonics Highland Heights, Ky. (PROTEXT) - BICCGeneral (NYSE: BGC)announced today that it has completed the second phase of itsacquisition of BICC plc's worldwide energy cable and cablesystems businesses, which included ownership interests inbusinesses in Fiji, the Iberian Peninsula, Mozambique, Angola,Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The Company expects tocomplete the third and final phase of the acquisition, whichincludes the remaining BICC Cables joint venture businesses inGermany and the Middle East, by year- end. BICCGeneral also announced the purchase of SpecTranCorporation's joint venture interest in General Photonics.General Photonics, a manufacturer of optical fiber cables, wasformed by General Cable Corporation and SpecTran in 1996. TheGeneral Photonics optical fiber cables business, now wholly ownedby BICCGeneral, will be combined with the optical fiber cablesbusiness that BICCGeneral recently acquired from BICC plc. Takentogether, BICCGeneral will be among the North American leaders infiber optic cabling for local area data networks and specialtydefense communications applications. The General Photonicsproduct line will now be marketed and sold with BICCGeneral'scomplete line of data communications products, which includesboth optical fiber cable and high-speed, enhanced copper Categorycable products, further enhancing the Company's highly successfulPower of One strategy. The General Cable brand name will beadopted for the former General Photonics product line. More information is available on BICCGeneral's web site atwww.biccgeneral.com. ots Original Text Service: BICCGeneralInternet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Lisa B. LawsonVice President Corporate Communications of BICCGeneral (USA) 606-572-8052 Web Site: http://www.biccgeneral.com

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