Semcon has signed an agreement to sell the Zpider business area to Finnish IT supplier Enfo Oyj

The 31 December an agreement was signed between Semcon and Enfo Oyj for the sale of 100 per cent of Semcon’s shareholdings in Zipper AB, Zystem Solutions by Semcon AB, Zingle by Semcon AB, Zuite AB and Semcon Innovation AB.

The sale is conditional on certain prerequisites being met and the deal is expected to be completed by no later than at the end of February at the latest. The sale will be carried out through a cash transaction and following an adjustment of the old additional purchase price contract and costs in connection with the sale, it is estimated that Semcon’s net debt will be reduced by around SEK 275 million.

Semcon has acquired IVM Automotive of Germany and Caran AB of Sweden over the year. These acquisitions have enabled the company to focus its business on product development and information solutions. The sale of the Zpider companies, which are active in the IT sector, is a natural result of the move towards our core areas. Following the sale of Zpider Semcon no longer sees a need for carrying out a share issue to finance the acquisitions of IVM and Caran.

“Semcon is currently preparing for global expansion with major business opportunities. To utilise these opportunities requires us to focus on our core business. We therefore worked very hard during the autumn to find another ownership structure for the Zpider business area. We are pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement, which is good for all parties concerned, Semcon, Enfo Oyj and not least the Zpider companies, which now have the potential to continue their rapid expansion,” says Kjell Nilsson, chairmen of the board of Semcon AB.

“The acquisition is part of our growth strategy where establishing on the Swedish market has been part of our objective. The idea is that the Zpider companies will continue growing independently,” says Arto Herranen, CEO of Enfo Oyj. “We also see great potential for benefiting from the range and know-how at the Zpider companies in our existing businesses in Finland and Russia,” he states.

In its financial statement for 2007, to be released on 21 February 2008, Semcon will present a detailed analysis of the effects of the sale.


For more information, please contact:
Björn Strömberg, acting CEO, Semcon AB, +46 (0)708 35 44 80
Kjell Nilsson, Chairman of the Board, Semcon AB, +46 (0)702 60 01 21
Anders Atterling, IR manager, Semcon AB, +46 (0)704 47 28 19


Zpider
Zpider provides IT solutions that streamline and facilitate their customers’ work. The four specialist companies in the business area are independent brands and they focus on specific solutions for general IT problems. Zpider’s range is mainly geared towards large and mid-sized companies with complex IT infrastructures. Zpider’s sales up to the end of September 2007 amounted to SEK 243 million and the operating profit after depreciation was SEK 37 million. The headcount at the end of September in the Zpider companies was 231. Zpider’s share of Semcon’s total sales was 11% during the period January to September 2007.

Enfo Oyj
Enfo is a Finnish Information Technology service provider. Its core mission is to offer easy to use Information Technology and Information Logistics services to companies and organisations. Enfo’s 500 IT-specialists make sure that its customers get the best out of their IT. Enfo’s Net Sales is approximately 100 Million Euros. www.enfo.fi


Semcon discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 8:45 p.m. on 2 January 2008.