US laser products company Coherent to buy rival Rofin-Sinar for $942 mn

US laser products company Coherent Inc yesterday struck a deal to buy laser developer and manufacturer Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc for about $942 million.

Coherent has offered to pay $32.50 per share in cash, a 41.9 per cent premium to Rofin's Wednesday closing price.

Coherent intends to finance the transaction through a combination of cash on hand and fully committed debt financing from Barclays.

Coherent expects about $30 million of annual savings within 18 to 24 months of closing.

Santa Clara, California-based Coherent designs, manufactures and markets laser systems and components, laser measurement and control products, optics, and laser accessories, which are used for a wide range of applications including defense, graphic arts, life sciences and materials processing.

Michigan and Hamburg-based Rofin-Sinar develops and manufactures lasers for laser-based industrial material processing applications.

The company has a broad portfolio of technologies and its product offerings include solid-state lasers, fibre lasers, diode lasers as well as an extensive range of pulsed laser products and CO2 lasers.

It posted net sales of $519.6 million for the year ended 30 September.

"This transaction is aligned with our strategy of increasing our scale and pursuing accretive growth opportunities," said John Ambroseo, Coherent's president and CEO.

"The combination of Coherent and Rofin represents a unique opportunity to strengthen Coherent's position in materials processing. The addition of Rofin's complementary portfolio will build on Coherent's capabilities as a world leader in laser and photonics-based technology and solutions and create meaningful value for our stockholders," he added.

Thomas Merk, Rofin's president and CEO said, "Coherent and Rofin are highly complementary both technologically and geographically.

Together, we will significantly increase the value we can bring to our customers by creating a better-positioned, highly diversified company with a greater breadth of product offerings and innovation and a comprehensive technology portfolio.