Benzinga | Dec 18, 2020 09:02AM EST

Teledyne Issues Statement On Proposed Acquisition Of Photonis; Says On Dec. 15, Co. 'was verbally notified of a negative opinion by the Ministry of Armed Forces'

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated ("Teledyne") today issued the following statement regarding its proposed acquisition of Photonis International SAS and affiliates ("Photonis") with operations in France, the Netherlands and the United States:



Teledyne made its first application to the France Ministry of the Economy and Finance ("MoE") for authorization of foreign investment related to the acquisition of Photonis on February 21, 2020. On March 31, 2020, Teledyne was verbally notified by the MoE of a negative opinion with respect to Teledyne's application.



However, on July 30, 2020, the MoE notified Teledyne in writing that the acquisition of Photonis could proceed if Teledyne agreed to certain conditions. Teledyne subsequently agreed to all conditions requested by the MoE, including a minority ownership stake in Photonis by the France sovereign investment fund Banque publique d'investissement ("Bpifrance"), veto rights granted to Bpifrance regarding the operations and management of Photonis' European businesses in both France and the Netherlands and a guaranteed fixed return on Bpifrance's investment. In addition, Teledyne agreed to establish a security committee that would include a representative of the France Government and implement processes to safeguard the sensitive activities of Photonis.



Consequently, on October 30, 2020, Teledyne refiled its application with the MoE for authorization of foreign investment. Finally, Teledyne committed to increase investment in Photonis and bring Teledyne's advanced digital imaging capabilities to Photonis' largely legacy analog technology.



However, on December 15, 2020, Teledyne was verbally notified of a negative opinion by the Ministry of Armed Forces, not by the MoE (where Teledyne filed its application). It is also Teledyne's understanding that not having received a decision from the MoE, Teledyne's request for authorization is deemed rejected.



"Our investments in our France subsidiaries, led by our French executives, have been very successful, and we look forward to continuing our positive relationships with the MoE, the Direction g?n?rale de l'armement and the works councils representing our dedicated employees," said Robert Mehrabian, Executive Chairman. "Notwithstanding the unfortunate outcome, we are glad to conclude this very arduous and disappointing process. We are now able to increase our focus on other acquisition opportunities."