3M Closes Offer for Cogent Shares

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3M Co. has closed its tender offer to buy shares of Pasadena-based Cogent Inc. for $10.50 per share.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based industrial conglomerate now owns 64.9 million shares, or 72.1 percent of Cogent’s outstanding stock. 3M will purchase the remaining shares through a second-step merger, a process in which each share not owned by 3M will be converted into a right to receive $10.50 in cash. Eventually, 3M will buy all the shares and Cogent will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M.

3M originally launched the tender offer in late August but extended it twice because of shareholder resistance. The second-step merger will require a vote of Cogent shareholders, which is to be scheduled as soon as practicable, 3M stated in a press release.

At $10.50 per share, 3M will pay about $943 million for the acquisition.

Cogent, a maker of security identification systems using a person’s fingerprint or iris, was founded by Ming Hsieh, ranked as the 50th wealthiest person in Los Angeles by the Business Journal in May. Hsieh sold his 39 percent stake in Cogent in the tender offer.

Shares of Cogent closed Wednesday at $10.51, up 2 cents or less than 1 percent.

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