The family holding the majority in Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) Wednesday said it is extending the shareholders pact indefinitely.

The heirs of company founder Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche have decided to extend the shareholders' agreement, which was due to expire at the end of 2009, for an unlimited period. Consequently, the family pool will retain its voting majority in the company Roche, which was founded in 1896 and has its registered office in Basel.

The shareholders' agreement, which was concluded some decades ago among the direct heirs of company founder Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, has been renewed prior to its original expiry date of end-2009 and extended for an unlimited duration. With this step, members of the Hoffmann and Oeri families are underscoring their joint desire to preserve the company's independent and autonomous character for the long term. The pool members have stated in a joint communiqu� that "the pool will continue to exercise its majority rights responsibly and in the interests of the company as a whole".

While Beatrice Oeri has decided to leave the pool as of April 1, 2009, the first representatives of the fifth generation will be joining it. Members of the pool will in future be: Vera Michalski-Hoffmann, Maja Hoffmann, Andre Hoffmann, Andreas Oeri, Sabine Duschmale-Oeri, Catherine Oeri, Maja Oeri, Joerg Duschmale and Lukas Duschmale.

Following redistribution within the family, the group of shareholders subject to the voting agreement hold an unchanged total of 80,020,000 shares or 50,0125% of bearer shares issued. These figures do not include shares held by individual members outside of this shareholder group.

The agreement continues to contain provisions on the exercising of the voting rights, representation vis-a-vis the company and restrictions on disposal of the bearer shares held in the pool.

As it was unanimously agreed that the pool members should be involved more closely in the internal decision-making process, and as it was decided not to make any public statements regarding the pool, the role of pool spokesman lapses. The current CEO of Scobag Privatbank acts on behalf of the pool as the contact for the provision of information to public authorities and other supervisory bodies (such as the stock exchange commission) as required by the law and regulations. Furthermore, it was agreed that the content of the agreement and the pool itself shall remain confidential.

Company Web Site: http://www.roche.com

-Zurich Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +41 43 443 8040; zurichdjnews@dowjones.com

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