Hamamatsu to Acquire NKT Photonics

BioPhotonics
Sep/Oct 2022Hamamatsu Photonics will acquire Danish fiber laser manufacturer NKT Photonics. Hamamatsu will make the acquisition, which the companies expect to close by the end of the first quarter of next year, through its wholly owned subsidiary Photonics Management Europe SRL, located in Belgium.

NKT Photonics will become a Hamamatsu subsidiary upon closure of the deal, which carries an enterprise value of approximately €205 million ($216.41 million).

NKT A/S said the full divestment of its photonics business, together with the photonics business’ divestment of its subsidiary LIOS to Luna Innovations in March, carries an enterprise value of approximately €225 million ($236.85 million). NKT Photonics’ primary markets are medical and life science, industrial, aerospace and defense, and quantum and nanotechnology.

The company of approximately 400 employees reported total 2021 revenues of €68 million ($71.66 million).

Hamamatsu said its complementary relationship with NKT’s business will support the company as it expands its laser application business. NKT, which specializes in fiber lasers, uses its photonic crystal fiber production to enable ultrashort pulse amplification and fiber transmission. Its fiber laser portfolio supports applications in the microscopy, semiconductor, quantum computing, and ophthalmic fields, Hamamatsu said.

NKT’s mainstay products include a supercontinuum white light laser, single-frequency fiber laser, and ultrafast fiber laser. Supercontinuum white light lasers are used in microscopy and in the inspection of semiconductor devices.

Single-frequency fiber lasers are used in the quantum computing field as lasers for cold trapping ions and atoms, taking advantage of their high power and high wavelength stability.

Ultrafast lasers are used as surgical lasers in the ophthalmology field.

Hamamatsu said these lasers are also expected to be used in semiconductor wafer cutting and for nonthermal processing for industrial applications. Hamamatsu’s laser diode business is based on compound semiconductor manufacturing technology.

“We are pleased to welcome NKT Photonics to Hamamatsu Photonics KK group and add their innovative technology and strong footprint in Northern Europe to our portfolio,” said Akira Hiruma, president and CEO of Hamamatsu Photonics. “We expect them to benefit from our worldwide business and from becoming part of our growth journey”

NKT said the divestment marks the final step in the process to fully focus on its core business within power cable solutions. In divesting its LIOS sensing business to Luna Innovations in March, NKT CEO Basel Garabet said, “The LIOS sensing business has a great potential and future; however, the synergies with our fast-growing laser and fiber business are limited in terms of business model, technology, and markets.”

In addition to its fiber laser offerings, NKT manufacturers femtosecond and pulsed diode lasers as well as optical fibers and modules. Its crystal fiber portfolio spans nonlinear fibers for octave-spanning supercontinuum generation, hollow-core fibers, and solid-core photonic bandgap filters.

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