Semcon acquiring 30 per cent of Devotek the Norwegian product development company

Semcon acquiring 30 per cent of Devotek. Simultaneously Devotek will acquire Semcon Norge AS.

“We have worked with Devotek for 3 years and have now chosen to go one step further by acquiring 30 per cent of the company. At the same time we are selling Semcon Norge AS to Devotek. In this way we gain a stronger business on the Norwegian market,” says Semcon’s acting CEO, Lars-Inge Sjöqvist. “Norwegian industry currently has a significant demand for development services. Through joint ownership we gain faster access to a number of different business opportunities.” “With Semcon as a partner we have access to major development resources and can offer our customers an even wider range of services in, for instance, aftermarket information and industrial design. In total there will be 75 staff in Norway. Semcon Norge AS gives us valuable embedded design skills. Semcon also has extensive experience of major partnerships and here we can see major benefits for our customers,” says Per Håvard Kleven, Devotek’s CEO. Semcon is financing the purchase of shares in Devotek by using all its own 96,500 shares in Semcon AB as a part payment and partly with cash. The total purchase price is NOK 16 million of which part will be paid to Devotek via a new issue. The planned date for the deal’s conclusion is 2 June. The purchase price of all the shares in Semcon Norge is NOK 7 million. Kongsberg Devotek AS Kongsberg Devotek AS was founded in 2001 via an MBO from the German company LuK, which, amongst other things, specialises in sequential gearboxes with a number of car manufacturers as clients. Besides its collaboration with LuK in the automotive sector, Devotek runs technical projects for various industrial companies on the Norwegian market. Devotek is on the verge of a major expansion and has positioned itself as “the development partner in advanced product development” focusing on providing a complete development project from concept to prototype. The business is run from Kongsberg and the company has 60 employees in Norway. Devotek had sales of NOK 55.4 million in 2005 and an operating profit of NOK 3.0 million. Semcon Norge AS Semcon Norge AS started via a partnership deal with Ericsson in 2002 and has successfully completed major international projects, showing good profitability. The company reported sales of NOK 23.1 million in 2005 and an operating profit of NOK 1.8 million. The business has seen a decline in orders for 2006 as customers have concentrated on reducing expenditure and utilising their own resources. Semcon Norge AS consists of 15 consultants working in the software development, testing and project management sectors. For more information please contact: Lars-Inge Sjöqvist, acting CEO Semcon, tel +46 736 84 03 56 Bengt Nilsson, CFO Semcon, tel +46 70 447 28 68 Per Håvard Kleven, CEO Devotek Kongsberg AS, tel +47 934 02265