GE Abandons SLM Bid

It’s no industry secret that GE is a proponent of additive manufacturing; the company has spent the past several years heavily investing in the technology through acquisitions and development centers.

Last month, the company revealed that it was in talks to acquire two major metal additive companies: Arcam AB and SLM. This settled up to a total investment of 1.4 billion dollars in not only additive manufacturing, but also the next generation of digital technologies.

Yet even with such a large investment, GE has withdrawn its $732.9 million bid from SLM, stating that investor Elliott Management opposed the deal. According to the Wall Street Journal, the hedge fund held more than 20% of SLM, and its rejection made it more difficult for GE to meet the minimum acceptance threshold.

The deal lapsed after an acceptance was not met earlier this week, and Elliott Management stated the deal “not in the best interests of SLM shareholders.”

“We and the leadership at SLM think the offer we put on the table was a very good offer,” GE Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg Quint. If GE cannot reach an agreement with shareholders, the company would be willing to walk away from the deal, he said. “We have other options.”

In this vain, GE stated that it is still in talks to acquire Arcam, which Elliott also has a significant stake in at 10%—making it the second-largest shareholder in the company. The acceptance period currently stands at Nov. 1st for this deal; to increase chances of reaching an agreement, GE has raised its big and lowered its minimum acceptance conditions.

Additionally, GE has acquired Concept Laser for $599 million, according to Reuters. It has initially purchased 75% of the Germany-based company. It added that with this investment, Lichtenfels, would become a new German center for the group.

Below you’ll find a video on GE’s vision for additive manufacturing.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Industry Week