Linz, 6 April 2021 – In March 2021, S&T AG (ISIN: AT0000A0E9W5, WKN: A0X9EJ, stock exchange symbol: SANT), through its wholly owned subsidiary S&T Deutschland GmbH, Mendig, Germany, concluded a purchase agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Axino Solutions GmbH (“Axino”), based in Aachen, Germany. Axino was included in the consolidated companies of the S&T Group with effect from 1 April 2021 and will subsequently be merged with S&T Deutschland GmbH.
Axino, founded on 1 January 2016, achieved revenues of EUR 7 million in 2020 with just under 50 employees and offers its services in central Germany as a system house with its own IoT products. Due to the high product development costs in the IoT sector and the adverse effects of the COVID-19-Pandemic, insolvency proceedings were initiated in January 2021, which will now be terminated following the entry of the S&T Group. The fixed purchase price for 100% of Axino amounts to TEUR 200. In addition, the financially strong S&T Group will recapitalize the new subsidiary and will thus benefit from a low purchase price, highly qualified technicians and the high synergies resulting from the merger with S&T Deutschland GmbH. Axino’s customers will continue to enjoy excellent quality and, in the future, an expanded portfolio of S&T Group’s product and services.
The Axino acquisition was handled within the framework of the newly established “M&A Light Process”. This process is characterised by an immediate full integration or merger of the 100% acquired company, revenue volumes of up to EUR 10 million without competition law approval and minimal transaction costs. The integration or merger will take place under the leadership of an experienced S&T manager from the pool of internal interim managers, thus ensuring that synergies can be leveraged quickly.
Hannes Niederhauser, CEO of S&T AG: “The acquisition of Axino is a good example of our new “M&A Light Process”. It allows us to react quickly and efficiently to acquisition opportunities. Especially in the current COVID-19-Crisis, this is proving to be advantageous. We will achieve slight profits with Axino as early as 2021 and, with 50 experienced technicians, we are strengthening our presence in Germany. I am confident that we will succeed in making more acquisitions of this kind in the near future.”