Dade Behring Announces Hoechst AG Will Increase

Ownership Position Deerfield, Ill. (PROTEXT) - Dade Behring Inc., a leadingglobal manufacturer and marketer of products and systems servingclinical diagnostics, today announced that Hoechst AG (NYSE: HOE)will increase its economic ownership in the company. Hoechst AG,headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, currently owns a 32.5percent share of Dade Behring. The increased ownership will result from a share repurchaseprogram under which Dade Behring will repurchase a portion of itsoutstanding stock from its non-Hoechst AG shareholders. The sharerepurchase program will be accomplished through arecapitalization and refinancing. The non-Hoechst AG shareholders-- Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs and company management -- willcontinue to be the controlling shareholder group. With 1998 revenues of approximately $1.3 billion, Dade Behringis among the largest clinical diagnostics companies worldwide andprovides the broadest available offering of products and systemsfor diagnostics testing. Dade Behring is headquartered inDeerfield, Ill., has operations in 39 countries and works throughdistributors in other regions. ots Original Text Service: DadeBehring Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: FredNachman for Dade Behring, 312-832-9300, ext. 202, or Joe Grillofor Bain Capital, 617-951-0000

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