Sartorius Sells Hydrodynamic Bearings Business to the British Smiths Group

Today, Sartorius AG (FWB:SRT) signed an agreement with the British
technology group Smiths (LSE:SMIN) to sell German-based Sartorius
Bearing Technology GmbH to this Group. According to the agreement, the
Smiths Group will retroactively purchase all of the shares in the
hydrodynamic bearing company effective September 1, 2007, subject to
usual approval procedures, such as antitrust clearance. The purchase
price is approximately 20 million euros. Sartorius Bearing Technology
GmbH is to be integrated into the John Crane business of Smiths, which
focuses on the design and manufacture of seals. John Crane will take
on all Sartorius Bearing Technology employees numbering around 100
persons at the Goettingen location. The transaction is expected to be
closed within approximately the next six weeks.

"We carefully weighed all options for the future and ultimately
chose the best prospects for employees, customers and shareholders,"
said Sartorius Executive Board Chairman and CEO Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg
about the transaction. "Our successful hydrodynamic bearings business
will be optimally promoted in John Crane and will gain the opportunity
to rapidly take the necessary steps for globalization. This would not
have been possible in this way for the business as a rather marginal
activity at Sartorius." As Kreuzburg said further, in defining its
portfolio, the Sartorius Group will continue to focus on its two core
areas of activity, biotechnology and mechatronics, as well as on its
major groups of customers, the biopharmaceutical, chemical and food
industries. In both areas, the Group is on track to accelerate
sustainable growth. He referred in this context to the acquisitions of
Omnimark, Toha Plast and Stedim Biosystems the Sartorius Group
recently made, the expansion of R&D, the substantial extension of the
plant facility in China as well as to the numerous new R&D and sales
and distribution alliances.

For the financial year 2007, Sartorius Bearing Technology
GmbH expects to achieve sales revenue of a good 15 million euros along
with a double-digit EBIT margin. Hydrodynamic bearings are used by
customers from the energy sector and plant and system engineering
field predominantly in high-speed applications, such as turbines,
compressors and industrial pumps. The company's manufacturing
operations for hydrodynamic bearings are based exclusively in
Goettingen, Germany. So far, its business has been primarily in
Germany and Western Europe. Sartorius spun off its hydrodynamic
bearings business in 2005 as a separate company (GmbH). In 2006, the
expanding business relocated to an independent facility.

Current image files:

The production facility of Sartorius Bearing Technology GmbH in
Goettingen:

www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/presse/Sartorius_Bearing_Technology_Pr
oduction.jpg

(Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into
your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one
exists.)

Hydrodynamic bearings for use in turbomachine engineering:

www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/presse/Sartorius_Bearing_Technology_Pr
oduct.jpg

Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, Sartorius CEO and Executive Board Chairman:

www.sartorius.com/uploads/media/Dr_Kreuzburg.jpg

This press release contains statements about the future
development of the Sartorius Group. We cannot guarantee that the
content of these statements will actually apply because these
statements are based upon assumptions and estimates that harbor
certain risks and uncertainties.

This is a translation of the original German-language press
release. Sartorius shall not assume any liability for the correctness
of this translation. The original German press release is the legally
binding version. Furthermore, Sartorius reserves the right not to be
responsible for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality
of the information provided. Liability claims regarding damage caused
by the use of any information provided, including any kind of
information which is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be
rejected.

A profile of Sartorius

The Sartorius Group is an internationally leading laboratory and
process technology provider covering the segments of biotechnology and
mechatronics. In 2006, the technology group earned sales revenue of
521.1 million euros. The Goettingen-based company founded in 1870
currently employs approximately 4,500 persons. Its biotechnology
segment covers majors areas of focus on fermentation, filtration,
purification, fluid management and laboratory applications. For the
mechatronics segment in particular, the company manufactures equipment
and systems featuring weighing, measurement and automation technology
for laboratory and industrial applications, as well as hydrodynamic
bearings. Key Sartorius customers are from the pharmaceutical,
chemical and food and beverage industries and from numerous research
and educational institutes of the public sector. Sartorius has its own
production facilities in Europe, Asia and America as well as sales
subsidiaries and local commercial agencies in more than 110 countries.
For more information visit www.sartorius.com.

A profile of Smiths Group

Smiths is a global technology company listed on the London Stock
Exchange. A world leader in the practical application of advanced
technologies, Smiths Group delivers products and services for the
threat & contraband detection, medical devices, energy and
communications markets worldwide. Our products and services make the
world safer, healthier and more productive. Smiths Group employs more
than 20,000 people in over 50 countries. For more information visit
www.smiths.com.

A profile of John Crane

John Crane, a Smiths Group business, designs and manufactures
seals and associated products mainly for the oil & gas, chemical,
pharmaceutical, pulp & paper and mining sectors. Since being
established over 80 years ago John Crane has become a leader in its
field. John Crane's products are a globally recognised and trusted
brand by the oil and gas industry. The John Crane business has 20
manufacturing sites around the world and more than 6,000 employees.
For further information visit www.johncrane.com.