Lumibird to acquire Saab’s €10 million laser rangefinder business...

04 Mar 2021

...while Active Silicon is acquired by fellow UK company Solid State for £6.3 million.

Lumibird, a developer of diverse laser technologies, has signed an agreement with the Swedish company Saab to acquire its defense laser rangefinder business. This acquisition will contribute to consolidating the Lumibird Group’s position on the European defense market.

Saab’s defense laser rangefinder business, based in Gothenburg, represents over €10 million of revenues based on the year ended December 31, 2020.

Assuming the acquisition completes, Lumibird will be able to offer its European Defense sector clients a wider selection of lasers and rangefinders, from short to long range, with increased market coverage. This acquisition will also open up immediate access for all the products to a broader panel of European clients.

The acquisition of this business, which Lumibird has known as a key component supplier for Saab for over 15 years, represents a first step towards a consolidation of the European defense lasers and rangefinders market, and is fully aligned with the Lumibird Group’s 2021-2023 strategic plan.

The deal, for which terms were not disclosed, is subject to various conditions, in particular obtaining the required approvals from the regulatory authorities. The transaction is expected to be finalized for the first half of 2022.

Lumibird is one of the world's leading specialists in lasers. With 50 years of experience in solid state lasers, laser diodes and fiber laser technologies, the Group develops high performance lasers for scientific (laboratories and universities), industrial (manufacturing, defense, Lidar sensors) and medical (ophthalmology) markets. Lumibir’s 2020 full-year earnings will be announced on on March 16, 2021.

Active Silicon acquired by Solid State for £6.3M

In an all-UK business announcements, Active Silicon, Iver, UK, has been acquired by Redditch-based Solid State, the AIM-listed manufacturer of computing, power and communications products, and electronic and opto-electronic components.

The transaction was completed at the end of February. The initial consideration of £6.3m is being settled out of Solid State’s existing cash resources and banking facilities.

Solid State is a value-added electronics group supplying industrial and military markets with ruggedized and durable components, assemblies and manufactured units for use in harsh environments.

Colin Pearce, CEO of Active Silicon, said, “We believe the synergies of our embedded electronics expertise, combined with Solid State’s portfolio of computing platforms, will lead to an acceleration of our profitable growth in the expanding areas of AI and embedded computing in general.

“This acquisition ensures that we’ll be able to continue to invest in the research and development needed to keep their vision systems evolving and adding value to their applications.”

Operating through two main divisions, Manufacturing (Steatite) and Value Added Supplies (Solid State Supplies and Pacer), the group specializes in complex engineering challenges often requiring design-in support and component sourcing for computing, power, communications, electronic and optoelectronic products.

Active Silicon’s expertise in the design, manufacture and supply of industry-leading vision components will enable Solid State to further their operations in the areas of machine and computer vision, and provides Active Silicon with greater potential to develop their embedded computing and AI capabilities. Active Silicon will operate as an independent entity within the industrial computer product portfolio of Steatite’s manufacturing division.