Deal Timeline

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The Rationale That Repeats.

Three patterns show up across 3M's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the deals below are the evidence.

01
Acquisition criteria
Large platform acquisitions in Health Care: the ~$6.
7B Acelity/KCI and ~$1.0B M*Modal deals scaled 3M's advanced wound care and health-information-systems businesses with leading branded and AI-driven assets.
Acelity Inc. (KCI)Capital Safety (Capital Safety Group S.A.R.L.)Polypore International, Inc. (Separations Media business)Scott SafetyM*Modal (technology business)
02
Capital deployment
Building out worker and personal safety: Capital Safety (fall protection) and Sc...
Building out worker and personal safety: Capital Safety (fall protection) and Scott Safety (breathing apparatus, gas/flame detection) added premier branded products to 3M's personal-safety platform amid rising global safety regulation.
Acelity Inc. (KCI)Capital Safety (Capital Safety Group S.A.R.L.)Polypore International, Inc. (Separations Media business)Scott SafetyM*Modal (technology business)
03
Integration approach
Buying technology platforms from private equity and acquiring via tender offer: ...
Buying technology platforms from private equity and acquiring via tender offer: several deals were carve-outs from PE owners (Acelity from Apax/CPPIB/PSP; Capital Safety from KKR; Polypore Separations Media) while others (Ceradyne, Cogent) used cash tender offers, often with assumed debt.
Acelity Inc. (KCI)Capital Safety (Capital Safety Group S.A.R.L.)Polypore International, Inc. (Separations Media business)Scott SafetyM*Modal (technology business)

The Full Deal Book

7 acquisitions. Each entry carries the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.

01 Acelity Inc. (KCI) · Global (medical technology company; sold by Apax Partners funds, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Public Sector Pension Investment Board) $6.7B
Announced May 2019 Closed Oct 2019 Cash acquisition from a private-equity consortium
Advanced and surgical wound care technologiesnegative pressure wound therapyand specialty surgical applications under the KCI brand

3M acquired Acelity Inc. and its KCI subsidiaries worldwide, a leading global medical technology company focused on advanced wound care and specialty surgical applications marketed under the KCI brand, for a total enterprise value of approximately $6.7 billion including assumption of debt. $6.7 billion enterprise value (approx. $4.5 billion net of cash acquired plus assumption of debt).

Why it was attractive
  • Recognized global leader in advanced wound care under the KCI brand
  • complementing 3M's existing Health Care portfolio in a significant and growing market
Acelity is a recognized leading provider of advanced wound care technologies and solutions and an excellent complement to our Health Care business. This acquisition bolsters our Medical Solutions business and supports our growth strategy to offer comprehensive advanced and surgical wound care solutions to improve outcomes and enhance the patient and provider experience.Mike Roman — 3M chief executive officer (announcement)
This is an exciting day as we bring together two premier and innovative companies that are focused on delivering comprehensive health care solutions to enable better outcomes for patients. This addition further accelerates 3M as a leader in advanced wound care, which is a significant and growing market segment.Mike Roman — 3M chairman and CEO (closing)
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Acelity is reported within 3M's Health Care business; 3M assumed debt in connection with the acquisition, a portion of which was redeemed or paid at close.

02 Capital Safety (Capital Safety Group S.A.R.L.) · Global (sold by KKR) $2.5B
Announced Jun 2015 Closed Aug 2015 Cash acquisition from KKR
Fall protection equipmentone of the fastest-growing safety categories within the global personal protective equipment industryunder the DBI-SALA and PROTECTA brands

3M acquired Capital Safety, a leading global provider of fall protection equipment, from KKR for a total enterprise value of $2.5 billion including the assumption of approximately $0.7 billion of debt, net of cash acquired. Products include harnesses, lanyards, self-retracting lifelines and engineered systems under the DBI-SALA and PROTECTA brands. $2.5 billion enterprise value (including assumption of approximately $0.7 billion of debt, net of cash acquired).

Why it was attractive
  • Industry-leading fall-protection products under well-known global brands (DBI-SALA
  • PROTECTA) with strong
  • consistent growth (sales CAGR of about 10 percent over the prior four years)
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Acquisition completed August 3, 2015; reported within 3M's personal safety platform.

03 Polypore International, Inc. (Separations Media business) · Global $1.0B
Announced Apr 2015 Closed Aug 2015 Cash acquisition of the assets and liabilities associated with Polypore's Separations Media business
Microporous membranes and modules for blood treatmentsultrafiltration and gas transfer used in life scienceelectronicindustrial and specialty filtration

3M acquired the assets and liabilities associated with Polypore International, Inc.'s Separations Media business for a purchase price of $1.0 billion. The business is a leading provider of microporous membranes and modules for blood treatments, ultrafiltration and gas transfer across life science, electronic, industrial, and specialty segments. $1.0 billion (purchase price).

Why it was attractive
  • Leading provider of membranes and modules that complement 3M's existing leadership in residential water
  • commercial foodservice
  • industrial and life science filtration
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Completed August 26, 2015; became part of the 3M Membranes business unit within 3M's Industrial Business.

04 Scott Safety · Headquartered in Monroe, North Carolina (sold by Johnson Controls) $2.0B
Disclosed in 8-K Cash acquisition from Johnson Controls
Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) systemsgas and flame detection instrumentsand other respiratory and safety devices

3M (Safety and Graphics Business) agreed to acquire Scott Safety, headquartered in Monroe, North Carolina, from Johnson Controls for $2.0 billion. Scott Safety is a premier manufacturer of innovative products, including self-contained breathing apparatus systems, gas and flame detection instruments, and other safety devices that complement 3M's personal safety portfolio. $2.0 billion (subject to closing and other adjustments).

Why it was attractive
  • Premier manufacturer of SCBA and gas/flame detection products that complement 3M's personal safety portfolio
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Completed in October 2017 via cash tender; reported within 3M's personal safety business.

05 M*Modal (technology business) · Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania $1.0B
Disclosed in 8-K Cash acquisition of all ownership interests of the technology business, plus assumption of debt
Cloud-basedconversational AI-powered clinical documentation systems that help physicians capture and improve the patient narrative

3M acquired all of the ownership interests of the technology business of M*Modal for $0.7 billion of cash, net of cash acquired, and assumption of $0.3 billion of M*Modal's debt. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, M*Modal is a leading healthcare technology provider of cloud-based, conversational artificial-intelligence-powered systems that help physicians efficiently capture and improve the patient narrative. $1.0 billion (approximately $0.7 billion cash net of cash acquired plus assumption of approximately $0.3 billion of debt).

Why it was attractive
  • Leading provider of cloud-based
  • AI-powered clinical documentation systems that complement 3M's Health Information Systems business
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Completed in February 2019; reported within 3M's Health Care business. Purchase consideration allocation completed in Q4 2019.

06 Ceradyne, Inc. · Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California; operations in the U.S., Canada, China and Germany $860M
Announced Oct 2012 Closed Oct 2012 Cash tender offer at $35.00 per share followed by merger
Advanced technical ceramics for automotiveoil and gassolarindustrialelectronics and defense applications

3M acquired Ceradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDN), headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, for $35.00 per share, an aggregate value of approximately $860 million (about $670 million net of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and debt acquired), via a cash tender offer followed by a merger. Ceradyne is a worldwide leader in the development and production of advanced technical ceramics for demanding applications in the automotive, oil and gas, solar, industrial, electronics and defense industries. $860 million aggregate (approximately $670 million net of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and debt acquired); $35.00 per share.

Why it was attractive
  • Worldwide leader in advanced technical ceramics with a unique platform spanning defense
  • automotive
  • oil and gas
  • solar and electronics
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Completed in November 2012; tender offer plus subsequent merger; debt acquired was largely repaid.

07 Cogent, Inc. (Cogent Systems) · Based in Pasadena, California; participates in the roughly $4 billion global biometrics market $943M
Announced Aug 2010 Closed Aug 2010 Cash tender offer at $10.50 per share followed by merger; founder/CEO Ming Hsieh and affiliated entities agreed to tender
Fingerpalmface and iris biometric identification systems for governmentslaw enforcement and commercial enterprises

3M acquired Cogent, Inc. (NASDAQ: COGT), commonly referred to as Cogent Systems, based in Pasadena, California, for $10.50 per share, an aggregate value of approximately $943 million (about $430 million net of cash acquired), via a cash tender offer. Cogent provides finger, palm, face and iris biometric systems for governments, law enforcement agencies and commercial enterprises. $943 million aggregate (approximately $430 million net of cash acquired); $10.50 per share.

Why it was attractive
  • Provider of multi-modal biometric systems (finger
  • palm
  • face
  • iris) serving governments
  • law enforcement and commercial customers in a growing global biometrics market
Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Completed in late 2010; 3M later acquired the remaining noncontrolling interest in December 2010 (approximately $248 million) at the same per-share price.

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