On 27 October, GE and Concept Laser, another German AM machine maker, agreed that GE would acquire a 75% stake in the company for $599 million, with an opportunity to take full ownership in a number of years.
According to the terms of the deal, Concept Laser founder Frank Herzog will continue as CEO of Concept Laser and will also assume a senior leadership position within GE; Concept Laser's 200 management and employees would remain, as would its Lichtenfels, Germany headquarters, which would become a new German centre for GE. In addition, the partnership between Concept Laser and Hofmann Tool Manufacturing (for AM mould and die applications) would continue.
Although the deal is subject to regulatory review, the Concept Laser acquisition is different in one fundamental respect from the SLM Solutions (UK agent Laser Lines) situation: Concept Laser is privately held.
Of the failed SLM deal, GE said that its offer for shares, at a premium of 38% over the SLM stock price on the offer date of 5 September, was “very compelling”.
GE was unable to acquire the minimum 75% of shares required to complete the deal by the 24 October deadline. Troubles with the deal were visible a few days before: on 21 October GE issued a statement that it would not extend the offer or change its terms.
SLM Solutions’ management, which had supported the deal, said that although the deal would have been in the interests of both GE and SLM Solutions shareholders, it recognised that “acceptance of the offer was subject to each SLM shareholder's individual decision.”
Uwe Bögershausen, chief financial officer of SLM Solutions Group AG, said that the takeover offer and its course have caused increased uncertainty in the market for additive manufacturing and for its customers and employees.
Now the company says that it will continue to pursue a strategy of development into an integrated system provider. To this end, SLM joined forces with Austrian company CADS and had already founded a company for the development of special software for the design and construction requirements of selective laser melting in February 2016. In July 2016, 3D Metal Powder was formed, together with the main shareholder of TLS Spezialpulver. This company will advance the development, production and processing of special metallic powders. The plan is to initially create manufacturing capacity to produce 100 tonnes of aluminium powder per year.
Turning to GE’s other September AM corporate purchase, Swedish firm Arcam AB, GE has raised its offer. Following the SLM Solutions failure, on 27 October it increased the offer price from SEK 285 to SEK 300 (£27.31) per share, reduced the minimum acceptance threshold to 75%, and further extended the duration of the offer period to 10 November.
As of 18 October, GE had 40.42% of outstanding Arcam shares, at which point it extended the acceptance offer to 1 November, Arcam reported.
David Joyce, GE vice chairman and president and CEO of GE Aviation, said: “We have taken further steps to pursue Arcam ownership as we advance our additive strategy. We are delighted to achieve the strategic cornerstone in our additive strategy by announcing today our acquisition of Concept Laser. The Arcam offer is a next step in our strategy.”
