Schramberg, 22 December 2022 – Today Schweizer Electronic AG successfully concluded negotiations to sell around 57% of the shares in its subsidiary Schweizer Electronic (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. based in Jintan/China ("SEC") to WUS Printed Circuit (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. based in Kunshan/China (" WUS"). WUS currently holds a stake of around 13% in SEC and will hold 70% of the shares in SEC upon closing of the transaction. WUS has been SCHWEIZER's most important strategic partner since 2014 and has held a direct stake in Schweizer Electronic AG since then.
SEC will continue to be an essential part of the SCHWEIZER group strategy despite the change in the shareholding structure. This step enables SCHWEIZER to offer customers high-tech products from China in addition to the German production site, as it did previously and irrespective of the changed shareholding structure in SEC. To this end, we are pursuing an intensive technological cooperation with WUS to manufacture the chip embedding p²-Pack and technologically sophisticated printed circuit boards for SCHWEIZER at the Jintan site as planned. This cooperation with WUS has already proven its worth in the field of high-frequency printed circuit boards in the past, where SCHWEIZER already generates almost 30 percent of group sales.
For SCHWEIZER, this reorganization means a transition to a ‘Fab Light Concept’. This involves an even stronger focus of the company on developing new high-tech printed circuit boards and embedding technologies, an even better penetration of the mobility market with a focus on Europe and North America, the development of new market segments and the expansion of the service portfolio.
SCHWEIZER continues to focus on the production site in Schramberg, following the trend towards increased local value creation and supply chain security and also to be able to serve larger, technologically demanding volumes from Europe.
The transaction will significantly strengthen SCHWEIZER's financial solidity and reduce risks by lowering fixed costs significantly. This step is also in line with the changing global political environment. We expect that the intensified strategic and operational cooperation with WUS will leverage valuable synergy potentials in the areas of procurement, financing and administration for the Chinese site, which will further improve the competitiveness of SCHWEIZER technologies. Furthermore, we will pursue close cooperation with WUS in the Asian and Chinese markets in order to benefit from their exceptionally well-established network, especially in the mobility segment. From this, we expect increased visibility and penetration of our p²-Pack technology in the dynamically growing e-mobility market in China.
WUS subsequently intends to carry out a capital increase at the Jintan site, which will provide SEC with sufficient funds to ensure further growth investments without restrictions. WUS's share in SEC will increase to approx. 80 % as a result.