Analytik Jena AG Plans Merger of AJ IDC GmbH

Jena, December 16, 2010 ? Analytik Jena AG (Frankfurt DE0005213508, Prime Standard: AJA), a leading manufacturer of analytical instrumentation technology, plans to fully merge AJ IDC Geräteentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary domiciled in Langewiesen in the south of Thuringia state. The merger, which will only become effective once it is entered in the commercial register following the submission of the annual financial statements of both companies, is intended to come into force with retroactive effect from October 1, 2010. This will mark the end of IDC as a separate legal entity. IDC has a total of 42 employees and is fully consolidated within the Analytik Jena Group.

The cooperation between the two companies started in 1991 with the marketing of sum parameter analyzers, which are used in environmental applications in particular. IDC has been a wholly-owned subsidiary since Analytik Jena’s IPO in 2000. Langewiesen site has since been steadily expanded as an R&D and production location. Today, the sum parameter and elemental analyzers sold under the Analytik Jena umbrella brand enjoy a high level of recognition and demand around the world.

"With their many years of development and production expertise in the area of sum parameter and elemental analysis, IDC and the Langewiesen site are an important part of the Group. This is why we remain committed to the Langewiesen site," commented Klaus Berka, CEO of Analytik Jena AG, adding that there were plans to expand the site in order to optimize the extensive and constantly growing manufacture of the products developed there. Construction work is set to begin in 2011.

"The planned merger of IDC into Analytik Jena AG is aimed at harmonizing and optimizing business processes and cost structures. This will allow us to leverage important synergy effects while improving the efficiency of the Langewiesen site, which will sail under the large flag of Analytik Jena following the merger."

Berka added that a key aim was to strengthen and reinforce the Analytik Jena brand in the international analytical instrumentation technology market. "We believe there is still considerable potential for concentrating our extensive expertise in a single brand."