MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Global analytical science and device company Trajan Group Holdings Limited (ASX: TRJ) (Trajan or the Company) has completed the acquisition of Axel Semrau GmbH & Co. KG and Semrau Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, the private business and properties of “Axel Semrau” based in Sprockhövel, Germany for €14.75 million and €2.25 million respectively. Adjustments, including accumulated undistributed profits total €2.85 million in favour of the sellers, to be paid by Trajan following Closing. Trajan is funding its current acquisition activities through a combination of cash and debt.
Axel Semrau (https://www.axelsemrau.de/en/), employs just over 50 staff in Europe and develops and manufactures laboratory automation and chromatography software and detection systems. The company reported FY 21 (year ended Sept ’21) revenues of €14.9 million, and EBITDA of €1.46 million (normalized EBITDA of €1.67 million), unaudited.
Stephen Tomisich, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Trajan stated, “We welcome the Axel Semrau team to the Trajan group. Trajan’s automation business and Axel Semrau have worked in close cooperation for several years and so we enter this new stage with a working relationship already well established. Axel Semrau owns and develops the CHRONOS intelligent sequencing software platform upon which Trajan’s automated workflows are built. We intend to further invest in CHRONOS in line with Trajan’s goal to simplify and automate complex analytical workflows.”
“Further, Axel Semrau’s automation business is highly synergistic with our own; both in terms of application areas and geographical coverage. Axel Semrau’s presence in chromatography and portable/on line gas detection also align with Trajan’s general direction.”
The two Managing Directors at Axel Semrau, Frank Sasse and Andreas Bruchmann and all other employees will continue in their current roles as part of the Trajan group. Dr Bruchmann commented “We welcome the opportunity to become part of the Trajan team. We have known Trajan for some time and find that our goals and values are aligned. We also see the intention of ongoing investment to drive growth in our business and capabilities.”
About Trajan
Trajan is a global developer and manufacturer of analytical and life sciences products and devices founded to have a positive impact on human wellbeing through scientific measurement. These products and solutions are used in the analysis of biological, food, and environmental samples. Trajan has a portfolio and pipeline of new technologies which support the move towards decentralised, personalised data-based healthcare.
Trajan is a global organisation of 450 people, with five manufacturing sites across the US, Australia, and Malaysia, and operations in Australia, the US, Asia, and Europe.
About Axel Semrau
Axel Semrau has 40 years of experience in the distribution and development of system solutions for chromatography and mass spectrometry. One focus is the efficient automation of complex workflows in the laboratory. Sample preparation and analysis techniques of GC-MS and LC-MS are integrated into one workstation. In order to realize this, we develop our own hardware and software. This enables in particular a time efficient design of the workflows. Therefore, the basis of automation, the self-developed control software CHRONOS, was named after the god of time. The automation solutions are sold under the brand name CHRONECT. This consists of the name of the software and the English term “to connect” with each other.