Sectra increases focus on mammography - acquires Mamea Imaging AB

Sectra increases focus on mammography - acquires Mamea Imaging AB The Swedish IT and medical-technology company Sectra AB has acquired 60,000 shares in Mamea Imaging AB, thereby increasing its ownership holding in the company from 38 to 95%. The acquisition is a strategic investment in the future product supply of the unique digital mammography stand. Mamea Imaging AB was formed in 1999 by a group of researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Sectra. The company has developed a completely new type of digital X-ray sensor that enables the combination of high image quality with a minimum dose of radiation. The development company Mamea, currently has 32 employees and reported no sales and an operating loss of SEK 1.5 M for the 2002/2003 financial year. The sellers are three of the company's founders, who will continue to work for the company. "By strengthening the Sectra Group with Mamea Imaging AB as a subsidiary, we are ensuring our strategic resources, expertise and intangible rights for our major investment in the area of mammography," says Jan-Olof Brüer, President and CEO of Sectra AB. "The successful results of the initial commercialization phase of Sectra MicroDose Mammography has led us to bring forward the acquisition, which was included as an option in the original contract between the founders of Mamea," adds Jan-Olof Brüer. The purchase price amounts to SEK 30 M and the contract includes a supplemental purchase price that is connected with positive business development. The supplemental purchase price could amount to a maximum of SEK 50 M and is based on future sales volumes of the mammography stand. The intention is to pay the acquisition using Sectra shares. The acquisition will result in an increase in goodwill for Sectra of approximately SEK 15 M and capitalized development costs will increase other intangible assets by about SEK 145 M. Mamea Imaging AB will be consolidated in the Sectra Group's financial reporting as of the fourth quarter. In conjunction with the fiscal year-end, a valuation of the capitalized development costs in Mamea Imaging AB will be made to adapt these to Sectra's application of current accounting principles. The Board of Directors assesses that it could be necessary to make a nonrecurring write-down of these intangible assets by up to 50 percent, which would reduce Sectra's Group profit for the current financial year. Sectra has intensified its focus on the mammography area. Through the acquisition of Mamea Imaging AB and increased marketing activities and build-up of sales channels Sectra aims to become more rapidly established as a leading player in mammography screening, with the unique Sectra MicroDose Mammography system. "There is major growth potential in the mammography field and we aim to become one of the leading players in this market. In two- to four years' time, our goal is that mammography activities will represent a substantial portion of Sectra's total operations," says Jan-Olof Brüer. To pay for the acquisition, the Board has decided to conduct a share issue of 540,540 Series B shares to the sellers, supported by the authorization received at the Annual General Meeting in June 2003. The new share issue corresponds to 1.5% of the share capital and 0.9% of the votes in the company. Sectra's share capital will amount to SEK 36,392,051 after the share issue. To facilitate the fulfillment of future payment of the supplemental purchase price, Sectra's Board has authorized, on condition of the approval of the Annual General Meeting, the issue of not more than 900,000 warrants. If all of the warrants are exercised for subscription of shares, the company's share capital will increase by SEK 900,000, which corresponds to 2.5% of the share capital and 1.5%t of the votes in the company. Telephone conference Sectras CEO Jan-Olof Brüer will answer questions about the acquisition at a telephone conference today at 1330 (CET). Analyst and media who want to participate in the conference should call +46 8 - 727 77 51 a few minutes prior to the start of the meeting and provide the codeword Sectra. For further information, please contact: Dr. Jan-Olof Brüer, President and CEO Sectra AB Ph +46 13 23 52 09, Email job@sectra.se Sectra MicroDose Mammography Sectra MicroDose Mammography is a unique digital mammography system based on revolutionary detector technology. This technology enables the combination of very high image quality and a very low radiation dose. The main benefits of Sectra MicroDose Mammography is that the radiation dose can be reduced by 80%, compared with film-based systems and a unique productivity, with the examination of as many as 70 patients daily. The system is protected by some 30 patents and patent applications. Helsingborg Hospital in Sweden is the first customer to use Sectra MicroDose Mammography in clinical processes. The system was installed in September 2003 and more than 5,000 women have subsequently undergone examination using the new system. The successful results from the usage at Helsingborg Hospital are important confirmation that the system works. Sectra's operations Sectra has its roots in Linköping Institute of Technology and is one of Sweden's fastest growing high-tech companies in IT. Since the mid-1980s, Sectra has successfully conducted development and sales of advanced medical IT and telecommunications products. Today, the business includes products in medical systems, secure communication systems and wireless information systems. Business is conducted in eight countries with a total of 300 employees. Sales for the fiscal year 2002/03 reached SEK 503 million. Since March 1999, Sectra's shares have been quoted on the O list of the Stockholm Exchange. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/04/30/20040430BIT20100/wkr0002.pdf