News Article
IPG acquires 22.5% minority interest in Russian subsidiary
The developer and manufacturer of high-power fibre lasers and amplifiers is taking full ownership of NTO IRE-Polus
IPG Photonics Corporation has purchased the outstanding 22.5% minority interest in its Russia-based subsidiary, NTO IRE-Polus (NTO), that it previously sold to Open Joint Stock Company “Rusnano.”
IPG regained complete control of NTO for $55.4 million in cash. The Company expects the transaction to be accretive starting in the third quarter of 2012. The net income attributed to Rusnano's non-controlling interest in NTO had resulted in a reduction to IPG Photonics’ earnings of $0.07 per diluted share in 2011 and $0.01 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2012.
“The proceeds from the original investment in NTO by Rusnano allowed IPG to accelerate its investment in R&D, further develop our sales and manufacturing infrastructure in Russia, and enhance our presence in that region by leveraging Rusnano’s brand and network,” says Valentin Gapontsev, IPG’s Chief Executive Officer. “Given the financial flexibility provided by the recent secondary offering, it is now an ideal time to regain complete ownership of our Russian subsidiary and fully benefit from the opportunities there.”
In December 2010, IPG sold a 12.5% minority ownership stake in NTO to Rusnano, which later purchased an additional 10% in June 2011, as permitted under the original agreement. In addition, IPG had a call option commencing in December 2013 to buy back the minority stake at a predetermined value and Rusnano had a put option commencing in December 2015 to sell its minority stake to IPG at a predetermined value. Under the terms of the agreement, the put and call options terminated.
