PRESS RELEASE
GE Plans to Invest $1.4B to Acquire Additive Manufacturing Companies Arcam and SLM; Accelerates Efforts in
Important Digital Industrial Space
• Expands design envelope to substantially reduce product cost
• Enables productive new model for services cost and delivery
• Lead in design and manufacture of highly valued parts
• Enter a fast-growing industry where GE can build a competitive position
• Leverages GE Store: key strengths in materials, software, and product design
BOSTON, MA (USA) – September 6, 2016 – GE (NYSE: GE), the world’s leading digital industrial company, today
announced plans to acquire two suppliers of additive manufacturing equipment, Arcam AB and SLM Solutions Group
AG for $1.4 billion. Both companies will report into David Joyce, President & CEO of GE Aviation. Joyce will lead the
growth of these businesses in the additive manufacturing equipment and services industry. In addition, he will lead
the integration effort and the GE Store initiative to drive additive manufacturing applications across GE.
“Additive manufacturing is a key part of GE’s evolution into a digital industrial company. We are creating a more
productive world with our innovative world-class machines, materials and software. We are poised to not only
benefit from this movement as a customer, but spearhead it as a leading supplier,” said Jeff Immelt, Chairman and
CEO of GE. “Additive manufacturing will drive new levels of productivity for GE, our customers, including a wide array
of additive manufacturing customers, and for the industrial world.”
GE expects to grow the new additive business to $1 billion by 2020 at attractive returns and also expects $3-5 billion
of product cost-out across the company over the next ten years.
Arcam AB, based in Mölndal, Sweden, invented the electron beam melting machine for metal-based additive
manufacturing, and also produces advanced metal powders. Its customers are in the aerospace and
healthcare industries. Arcam generated $68 million in revenues in 2015 with approximately 285 employees.
In addition to its Sweden site, Arcam operates AP&C, a metal powders operation in Canada, and DiSanto
Technology, a medical additive manufacturing firm in Connecticut, as well as sales and application sites
worldwide.
SLM Solutions Group, based in Lübeck, Germany, produces laser machines for metal-based additive
manufacturing with customers in the aerospace, energy, healthcare, and automotive industries. SLM
generated $74 million in revenues in 2015 with 260 employees. In addition to its operations in Germany, SLM
has sales and application sites worldwide.
“Additive manufacturing fits GE’s business model to lead in technologies that leverage systems integration, material
science, services and digital productivity,” said Joyce. “It will benefit from the GE Store and our core engineering
capability.”
Arcam and SLM will bolster GE’s existing material science and additive manufacturing capabilities. GE has invested
approximately $1.5 billion in manufacturing and additive technologies since 2010. The investment has enabled the
company to develop additive applications across six GE businesses, create new services applications across the
company, and earn 346 patents in powder metals alone. In addition, the additive manufacturing equipment will
leverage Predix and be a part of our Brilliant Factory initiative.
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“We chose these two companies for a reason,” said Joyce. “We love the technologies and leadership of Arcam AB
and SLM Solutions. They each bring two different, complementary additive technology modalities as individual
anchors for a new GE additive equipment business to be plugged into GE’s resources and experience as leading
practitioners of additive manufacturing. Over time, we plan to extend the line of additive manufacturing equipment
and products.”
The additive effort will utilize GE’s global ecosystem, but be centered in Europe. GE will maintain the headquarters
locations and key operating locations of Arcam and SLM, as well as retain their management teams and employees.
These locations will collaborate with the broader GE additive ecosystem including the manufacturing and materials
research center in Niskayuna, New York, and the additive design and production lab in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
They will also complement the technologies brought on by other key acquisitions such as Morris Technologies and
Rapid Quality Manufacturing.
Each acquisition is structured as a public tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of stock of each company.
The closing of each public tender offer is subject to various conditions, including minimum acceptance thresholds
and regulatory approvals. GE is in the process of making the necessary filings with authorities with respect to such
tender offers, and, upon approval, the documents will be made publicly available.
Additive manufacturing (also called 3D printing) involves taking digital designs from computer aided design (CAD)
software, and laying horizontal cross-sections to manufacture the part. Additive components are typically lighter
and more durable than traditionally-manufactured parts because they require less welding and machining. Because
additive parts are essentially “grown” from the ground up, they generate far less scrap material. Freed of traditional
manufacturing restrictions, additive manufacturing dramatically expands the design possibilities for engineers.
“Additive provides a new palette for engineers to create. Parts are also being designed in GE Power, Oil & Gas,
Healthcare and across GE’s services businesses,” said Joyce. “We see value potential to reduce product cost and
improve NPI spend. Ultimately, as we develop more productive machines, we can build additive manufacturing ‘as a
service’ for our customers.”
In July, GE Aviation introduced into airline service its first additive jet engine component – complex fuel nozzle
interiors – with the LEAP jet engine. The LEAP engine is the new, best-selling engine from CFM International, a 50/50
joint company of GE and Safran Aircraft Engines of France. More than 11,000 LEAP engines are on order with up to
20 fuel nozzles in every engine, thus setting the stage for sustainably high and long-term additive production at GE
Aviation’s Auburn, Alabama, manufacturing plant. Production will ramp up to more than 40,000 fuel nozzles using
additive by 2020. GE Aviation is also using additive manufacturing to produce components in its most advanced
military engines. In the general aviation world, GE is developing the Advanced Turboprop Engine (ATP) for a new
Cessna aircraft with a significant portion of the entire engine produced using additive manufacturing.
“GE’s aspirations in additive fits our long-term business model. We have world-class industrial businesses that
leverage systems integration, material sciences, services and Predix,” said Immelt. “We want all of our businesses to
leverage the GE Store, promote digital differentiation, and drive productivity for GE and our customers. We are
excited about the opportunity.”
GE will host an investor call at 8:30AM ET to discuss these transactions. To tune in and access additional documents
visit www.ge.com/investor.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and
solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the
"GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect.
Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology
and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE, is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems
for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more
information, visit us at www.geaviation.com.
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Legend
This communication is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of Arcam or SLM
Solutions, as applicable. The solicitation and the offers to purchase shares of Arcam and SLM Solutions will
be made pursuant to offer documents.
Shareholders of Arcam and SLM Solutions are advised to read the relevant offer documents, as may be
amended or supplemented from time to time, when they become available, before making any decision
with respect to the offers to purchase because such documents will contain important information
about the proposed offer to purchase transactions and the parties thereto.
Investors and shareholders may obtain, when available, free copies of the offer documents, as may be
amended or supplemented from time to time, at the website of GE Aviation at www.geaviation.com/additive.
The distribution of this communication may, in some jurisdictions, be restricted. This communication may
not be distributed in countries in which this would be illegal. It must not be distributed by third parties
outside Sweden, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Member States of the European Union and the
European Economic Area, and the United States. It is not being, and must not be, sent to shareholders with
registered addresses in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, New Zealand or South Africa. Banks, brokers,
dealers and other nominees holding shares for persons in such countries must not forward this
communication, or any related documents, to such persons.
Forward-looking information
This communication includes "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In
this context, forward-looking statements often address GE Group’s expected future business and financial performance
and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” "see,”
“will,” “would,” or “target.”
Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and involve known
and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond GE Group’s control and all of which are based on GE
Group management's current beliefs and expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements include
all matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual
results. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. These or other uncertainties may cause GE
Group’s actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in GE Group’s forward-looking statements.
GE Group does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, satisfaction of the minimum acceptance
condition for each offer, the ability of GE to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals required to complete the offers to
purchase, the satisfaction of the other conditions to the consummation of the proposed transactions, the timing of
completion of the proposed offers to purchase, and the impact of the announcement or consummation of the proposed
transactions on the relationships of GE Group and Arcam or SLM Solutions, including with employees, suppliers and
customers. In addition, there can be no assurance that the offers to purchase will result in the consummation of an
acquisition of Arcam or SLM Solutions. These and other important factors, including those discussed under “Risk Factors”
included in GE Group’s Consolidated Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, may cause GE
Group's actual events or results to differ materially from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Such forward-looking statements
contained in this communication speak only as of the date of this communication. GE Group expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to update these forward-looking statements contained in this communication to reflect any
change in GE Group’s expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are
based unless required to do so by applicable law.
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More detailed information about these and other factors is set forth in the Annual Report on Form 10-K
which is available on the GE Group Investor Relations website at http://www.ge.com/investor and has also
been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Media Contact:
Rick Kennedy
+1 513 607 0609
rick.l.kennedy@ge.com
Investor Contact:
Matt Cribbins
+1 617 443 3003
M.cribbins@ge.com |
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