Semcon is selling its business in Knud E. Hansen to the ML Group. The Danish ML Group is active in a number of business areas including offshore and marine design. "For some time we have been looking at the possibility of selling Knud E. Hansen A/S, which focuses on the shipping industry, because it doesn't fit into the framework of our future strategies and investments," says Henrik Sund, CEO of Semcon. "The ML Group can give Knud E Hansen and our Danish colleagues a new home port so they can continue to build on the business they have had for nearly 70 years."
"Knud E. Hansen, with its 30 employees, has an excellent reputation in the shipping industry throughout the world and we are very pleased to bring their expertise and experience into our business," says Claes Fog B0lge, CEO at the ML Group. "Knud E. Hansen's sharp focus on innovative design will play an important role in our increased investment in new marine design technology." "It's business as usual and we are continuing to expand the collaboration with our customers", says Finn Wollesen, CEO of Knud E. Hansen's business activities. Knud E. Hansen is currently a small part of Semcon and the sale will therefore only marginally affect Semcon's results. The purchase price is about SEK 10 million.
Knud E. Hansen Knud E. Hansen is a project-oriented company that designs and constructs passenger ferries, tankers and specialist vessels of different kinds throughout the world. The range of services also includes vessel inspection and documentation of existing vessels. Knud E Hansen A/S had sales of SEK 24.5 million in 2005. ML Group The ML Group is a privately-owned group of businesses based in Denmark. The ML Group is active in a number of technological and has 500 employees. About 100 of these are employed in offshore and marine design. Semcon is 1,700 people with a passion for creating smart and effective IT solutions, user-friendly technical information and converting product ideas into sales successes. Today Semcon is active in Sweden, Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, Norway and the UK and via partners in Belgium, France, Portugal and Spain. Semcon had sales of SEK 1.5 billion in 2005 and is listed on the Small Cap list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange.