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nLIGHT has announced the acquisition of leading developer of coherently combined lasers and beam control systems for high-energy laser systems, Nutronics Inc. nLIGHT completed the acqusition for a purchase value of $17.5 million in cash and $15.8 million in restricted stock units (RSUs) that will be issued as part of ongoing employment agreements.
According to Scott Keeney, nLIGHT’s President and CEO, the acquisition complements nLIGHT’s current directed energy offerings, opening a significantly larger portion of the technology value stack in this attractive growth market. With the addition of Nutronics, nLIGHT will offer customers a broad range of directed energy products, from semiconductor lasers through-beam control. Nutronics also brings with itself a deep engineering team with demonstrated success in developing directed energy technologies.
Nutronics builds upon nLIGHT’s current directed energy offerings, which encompass industry-leading semiconductor laser and fiber laser technologies. Adding Nutronics’ capabilities in developing and demonstrating key solutions essential to high-power applications opens significant new addressable market for nLIGHT. Nutronics’ expertise in beam combination and beam control are foundational to the continued development of HEL systems and the evolution of the directed energy market from the lab to the field. According to Jeff Barchers, Nutronics’ CEO & CTO, joining nLIGHT will enable Nutronics to accelerate its ongoing work in supporting HEL development and better positions the company to execute on its recent contract awards as well as creating significant value for the customers and the directed energy market as a whole.
The acquisition of Nutronics is projected to add between $25.0 million to $40.0 million to nLIGHT’s 2020 revenues. The transaction was funded through cash on nLIGHT’s balance sheet. In conjunction with the transaction, nLIGHT’s Board of Directors authorized the company to repurchase up to $10.0 million of its outstanding shares of common stock. This program is intended to offset RSU grants awarded in connection with the transaction.
