日本光学和成像跨国尼康已完成对德国金属3D打印机制造商的收购SLM Solutions。
该交易最初达成协议，尼康以每股20.00欧元的价格收购了SLM Solutions 100％的股份，总计6.22亿欧元。尼康首席执行官Toshikazu Umatate表示，此举将帮助两家公司“以加速的速度为全球各种行业的客户提供整体解决方案。”
“We are very pleased that our transaction has progressed successfully, and we are looking forward to partnering with SLM,” said Toshikazu Umatate, CEO of Nikon. “We value SLM’s capabilities in the metal additive manufacturing space and we look forward to enhancing and growing our digital manufacturing business, which we are confident will lead to a revolution in global mass production.”
SLM Solutions’ change in fortunes
在过去的四年左右的时间里，SLM Solutions的收入在2019财年的收入同比增长31.7％，转变为航空航天和汽车领域的需求不断增长。实际上，SLM Solutions’ Q3 2022 financials表明，尽管供应链持续挑战，但去年的收入表现是迄今为止最强的。
So, how has the company turned things around so quickly? Since SLM Solutions CEO Sam O’Leary took the helm in January 2021, its sales have been buoyed by deals to supply aerospace stalwarts such asRolls Royceand theUS Air Force。
该公司的周转也与推出NXG XII 600andNXG XII 600E3D printers, the former of which has been adopted byDivergent Technologies, builder of the3D打印的Czinger 21c HyperCar。奥利里（O’Leary）说，现在它被尼康（Nikon）的收购已经结束，他希望SLM Solutions的客户群能够进一步增长，因为它开始利用其母公司的市场。
“Together with Nikon, we will further strengthen our leading position in integrated metal additive manufacturing through consistently raising the bar in this innovation-centric environment,” said O’Leary. “We have demonstrated the relevance of our technology to every major industry, and with Nikon we are confident we will expand our customer base even further.”
尼康是开发尖端的光电技术和精密设备方面的深厚专业知识，是SLM的理想合作伙伴。”
GE放弃的收购竞标
Until Nikon’s buyout, SLM Solutions had traded independently since it was founded in 2006, but that’s not to say it hasn’t been the subject of takeover speculation before. Back in 2016, it was not Nikon butGE lining up an SLM Solutions takeover bid。At the time,GE Additive有价值的SLM解决方案为每股38.00欧元或9亿欧元，现在已出售的每股股票大约超过20.00欧元。
It’s thought that GE made a move for SLM Solutions because its early3D打印的Leap燃料喷嘴, which have since become a poster child for aerospace 3D printing, were built on SLM systems by Morris Technologies, a firm it acquired in 2012.
但是，当激进投资者Elliott Advisors建立了该公司20％的股份时，GE选择摆脱计划购买。相反，正如3D打印行业所预测的那样GE bought Concept Laser, in a move that has allowed it to vertically integrate, bringing its aerospace 3D printing activities in-house, while continuing to generate revenue from the sale of its acquisition’s powder bed fusion systems.
After GE’s interest in SLM Solutions waned, the firm’s share price dipped back to its previous level. Elliot Advisors would go on to provide SLM Solutions with €13 million of capital during 2019. By contrast, having wrapped up its takeover, Nikon has now committed to providing a 10% capital increase to the company, a cash injection of around €45.4 million.
尼康commits to metal 3D printing
尼康may be best known for its optical technology offering, but it has long held an interest in the 3D printing industry. The firm acquired optical instrument developer Metris in 2009, before striking up a collaboration with3D工程解决方案in 2014, which saw the firms develop anew generation of metrology-grade CT scanners, capable of converting scans into 3D models and CAD files.
此后，这些扫描仪已被部署3D printed hip implants for Orthic Balto, and in the development of物质的流媒体软件。However, Nikon changed gears in 2019 with the launch of its Next Generation Project, an initiative that has seen it target more high-growth businesses, particularly those involved in 3D printing.
2021年4月，尼康bought metal 3D printing bureau Morf3D, and this was followed up with a takeover bid for SLM Solutions in September 2022.然后，SLM解决方案投资于混合制造技术和optisys, in deals which have provided it with access to hybrid and electronics 3D printing technologies, and manufacturing capabilities that are said to be ‘well-aligned’ with its own.
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Featured image shows an SLM Solutions showroom. Image via SLM Solutions.
