Semcon's acquisition of Extern Engineering now complete

Semcon´s acquisition of Extern Engineering AB now complete Today Semcon acquired the remaining 15 percent of the well-reputed consulting company Extern Engineering AB from Collins & Aikman. By the 5 October an 85 percent holding in the company had been acquired from the main owner Anders Thornberg. This means that Extern Engineering AB is now a fully-owned subsi- diary of the Semcon Group. The aim of the acquisition is to further specialize and increase the number Semcon's services and to offer its clients more efficient and faster development. The acquisition of Extern Engineering strengthens Semcon's position as one of Scandinavia's leading industrial consulting companies and increases our ability to carry out larger and more complex development assignments. This will also be an asset for international investments. Extern's collaboration with the major system suppliers for Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and Saab, further increases Semcon's network of clients and collaborators within the global automotive industry. "The acquisition of Extern Engineering AB is a strategically important step in our expansion process and I envisage several synergies in connection with the deal", says Hans Johansson, MD of Semcon. He continues: Extern's expertise in areas such as rapid prototyping and interior styling supplements Semcon's competence. This collective expertise allows us to meet our clients' requirements for farming out larger projects to fewer suppliers. Extern, which has 35 employees and had a turnover of approximately SEK 30 million in 1998, has shown good profitability and excellent growth potential. Extern Engineering's business concept is to offer total solutions for development projects to system suppliers for the automotive industry and other branches undergoing intensive development. "After working together for many years, I am pleased for myself and my colleagues at Extern that we now have access to Semcon's expertise within the areas of styling, calculation and testing", says Anders Thornberg, MD of Extern. For further information, please contact: Hans Johansson, Semcon AB, tel: 031-721 08 66, mobile: 070-591 43 34 Björn Magnusson, Semcon AB, tel: 031-721 08 10, mobile: 070-512 52 99 Anders Thornberg, Extern Engineering AB, tel: 031-64 84 00, mobile: 070-892 65 26 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information