Nikon will first spend €45 million for a roughly 10% stake in the target through a capital increase. The Japanese company will later launch tender offers to purchase shares and convertible bonds, financing the acquisition with funds on hand.
Through the deal, Nikon looks to gain a large foothold in metal additive manufacturing, the industry term for metal 3D printing.
“We aim to become the leading global player in metal additive manufacturing, a promising market due to digital manufacturing and carbon neutrality,” Nikon president Toshikazu Umatate said during an online presentation.
Metal 3D printing can make a range of components using common designs and enhance the strength of a part while making it lightweight. It has applications for aerospace as well as for making electric vehicles lighter to extend their cruising distances.
Founded in 1996, SLM is headquartered in the German city of Lubeck and employs over 500 people. The company’s 3D printers are strong at making large metal components quickly by using metal-melting lasers.
SLM has drawn major clients from the aerospace and automotive industries. The company now controls a roughly 10% share in metal 3D printing, according to Nikon, putting it in third place behind EOS of Germany and General Electric.
GE in 2016 offered to buy SLM for US$745 million, but activist investors called for a higher bid, leading the US company to ultimately withdraw its bid.
Nikon makes the Lasermeister 3D printer, developed with the company’s high-precision measurement and microfabrication technology. Those capabilities owe to expertise built up from manufacturing semiconductor photolithography equipment.
Metal 3D printers made by Nikon create objects by fusing layers of fine metal powder. The company looks to bring in SLM’s tech to raise its competitive advantage.
Nikon positions metal 3D printing as a key segment, alongside cameras and photolithography devices. The company built up its metal 3D printing business in April last year by spending nearly ¥10 billion (US$91 million at the time) to buy US-based Morf3D, a satellite parts maker whose customers include Boeing.