Saab AB and Lumibird SA have today completed a transaction whereby Lumibird, through a newly established Swedish subsidiary based in Gothenburg, is acquiring Saab’s laser rangefinder business. The transaction, which was signed in March 2021, was subject to a number of conditions, all of which now have been fulfilled. As part of the transaction, 27 Saab employees in Gothenburg will be affected and join the newly established subsidiary Lumibird Photonics Sweden AB. The divested operations had revenues of around EUR 10 million in 2021.
The purchase of the laser rangefinder business, a component supplier for Saab for more than 15 years, is in line with Lumibird’s 2021 to 2023 strategy, according to the company. Lumibird is present in Europe, America, and Asia. It employs over 940 people and recorded more than €162m of consolidated revenues last year. Post-acquisition, Lumibird is expected to expand its product line in the European market with a wider choice of rangefinders and lasers.
“The divestment is yet another stage in the increased focus on our core business and we are convinced that the laser business makes a good strategic fit within the Lumibird Group,” says Carl-Johan Bergholm, head of Saab’s business area Surveillance.
LUMIBIRD is one of the world’s leading specialists in lasers. With 50 years of experience and expertise in 3 key technologies – solid-state lasers, laser diodes and fiber lasers – the group designs, manufactures and markets high performance lasers for the industrial (manufacturing, lidar sensors), scientific (laboratories and universities), medical (ophthalmology) and defense markets. LUMIBIRD (formerly Quantel-Keopsys group) is on the Euronext Stock Exchange and employs 800 people. With development and manufacturing facilities in France and the USA, and a strong world-wide sales and service network, the group serves a global customer base.