Acquisitions by FARO and Nikon

After a quiet August, September has opened with two major announcements, with both FARO and Nikon making some large acquisitions.

FARO & GeoSLAM

FARO announced today that they have acquired the UK-based GeoSLAM, a provider of mobile scanning solutions with proprietary high-productivity simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) software to create 3D models for use in Digital Twin applications. FARO expects a significant expansion and acceleration of their market growth opportunity in the mobile scanning space thanks to the acquisition.

“We are thrilled to add GeoSLAM’s handheld 3D scanning technology to our portfolio of cutting-edge data capture solutions,” said Michael Burger, FARO President and CEO. “FARO now offers the industry’s broadest set of 4D data capture solutions, including 3600 camera-based images, mobile scanning and stationary high-accuracy laser scanning, allowing customers to balance the need for accuracy, speed and detail depending on their requirements. These capture technologies provide the foundation for our 4D digital reality-based SaaS offering that will allow customers to access multiple 4D data sources for visualization and analysis through a single user experience. We welcome the GeoSLAM team to our FARO family.”

“Joining with FARO represents the next step in the growth of GeoSLAM and the establishment of mobile mapping as a driver for growth in the way businesses map and understand their spaces,” added Andy Parr, GeoSLAM CEO. “Both companies share a vision of the importance of mobile scanning in the burgeoning digital reality capture market.”

“GeoSLAM reported £14.5 million in revenue with 18% EBITDA in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, is calculated as net income/loss before interest (income) expense, net, income tax expense (benefit), foreign exchange rate variance, and depreciation and amortization. The transaction closed on September 1, 2022, funded with available cash reserves and equity consideration.

Under terms of the agreement, GeoSLAM shareholders received a cash payment of £22.0 million and 495,562 shares of FARO stock that is subject to customary lock-up provisions. FARO expects the acquisition to be accretive to Non-GAAP EPS in 2023.”

Nikon and SLM Solutions Group AG

At the same time, Nikon Corporation has agreed to acquire SLM Solutions in a 622 million EUR deal (roughly £540 million GBP). The deal is expected to be completed by late September to early October.

Samuel Davies, Senior Editorial Content Producer for TCT, says the following about SLM:

“SLM Solutions is one of the leading players in the additive manufacturing (AM) space, particularly on the metal 3D printing side of the industry. The company is one of several 3D printing players leading the charge on designing solutions for serial production which, when combined with the technology’s potential to produce complex objects, reduce product development cycles, and maybe even reduce energy emissions, is bringing a wave of investment to the sector. This has materialised in the shape of public listings, mergers and acquisitions, of which there have been too many to list in AM over the last two years.”

Where there’s (additive) manufacturing, there’s quality assurance, and with Nikon being a major player in the field of industrial scanning, this promises to be an interesting partnership. Hopefully the two businesses can complement each other and improve efficiency from both sides.