AMSTERDAM, 27/01/07 - The Companies Chamber of the Amsterdam appeal court on Friday appointed former Premier Wim Kok as one of three supervisory board members charged with thawing the company's frigid relations with large shareholders Centaurus and Paulson. The other two are Kees van Lede and Dudley Eustace.

The Companies Chamber decided last week to appoint three new, independent members to Stork's supervisory board. They must find a way out of the violent dispute between Stork and Centaurus and Paulson. The two investment funds want the company split up; management refuses.

With the appointment of the three heavyweights, the battle between Stork and its besiegers will enter a new phase. The three new board members will function alongside the company's existing supervisory board.

Kok is also on the supervisory boards of ING, Shell, TNT and Air France-KLM. The Briton Eustace has in the past been CFO of Ahold and Philips and is now on the supervisory boards of various listed companies. Van Lede headed chemicals concern Akzo Nobel up to May 2003.

Centaurus and Paulson want Stork only to keep its Aerospace division, and they are demanding the supervisory board's resignation. The Companies Chamber however ruled last week that the shareholders cannot influence the company's strategy in this way. On the other hand, the judge banned a protective wall Stork had erected via the issue of cumulative preference shares to itself, diluting Centaurus and Paulson's stakes.

The Companies Chamber announced Friday that the investigation launched into possible mismanagement at Stork will last at most six months. Centaurus and Paulson requested this investigation. The judge has appointed two researchers: Leendert van den Blink and Lou Traas.

Centaurus and Paulson, who own a combined one-third of Stork's shares, said Friday they were looking for a "constructive dialogue" with the new supervisory board members.