CITIC Capital

Aug 30, 2023

August 29, 2023 NATICK, Mass.–( BUSINESS WIRE )–Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), a leader in industrial machine vision, today announced it has agreed to acquire Moritex Corporation (Moritex) from Trustar Capital, a private equity affiliate of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, for ¥40 billion (approximately $275 million), in an all-cash transaction. Moritex is a leading global provider of optics components with a strong presence in Japan. “At Cognex, we provide manufacturers with the most advanced machine vision solutions. We have long admired, and sold, Moritex optics components as an important element of what we do,” said Robert Willett, President and CEO of Cognex. “We often note that machine vision functions like the eye and brain of a human: Cognex vision systems are akin to the brain, and Moritex optics, the eye. Bringing these complementary technologies together will streamline the solution we provide our customers, enabling a more advanced and integrated offering. Expanding into the optics components segment with this acquisition will increase our served market and deepen our penetration of the Japanese machine vision market.” Moritex has established a reputation as an industry leader providing high-quality, standard optical components over its 50-year history. The company develops and sells high-accuracy solutions for equipment manufacturers in a wide range of industrial markets. “We are excited to join Cognex as we work towards our mission to provide the best optical solutions for our customers. Combining our best-in-class optics components with a global machine vision leader will create new opportunities for growth,” said Takao Sato, Chief Executive Officer, Moritex. “This acquisition will position us to deliver our solutions to Cognex’s broad customer base, providing a more comprehensive machine vision offering. We remain committed to proactively serving and supporting our customers around the world.” Willett continued, “Moritex will be Cognex’s largest acquisition in our 42-year history. We are highly selective in evaluating potential acquisitions. Moritex exceeds our selection criteria based on its strategic fit, reputation, growth prospects, culture of innovation, and financial profile.” Moritex is expected to contribute 6-8% of Cognex’s revenue, and the acquisition is expected to be accretive to GAAP EPS in 2025. Moritex is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, with a global footprint of manufacturing facilities and administrative offices. It employs approximately 500 people. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Evercore acted as sole financial advisor to Cognex. About Cognex Corporation Cognex Corporation invents and commercializes technologies that address some of the most critical manufacturing and distribution challenges. We are a leading global provider of machine vision products and solutions that improve efficiency and quality in high-growth-potential businesses across attractive industrial end markets. Our solutions blend physical products and software to capture and analyze visual information, allowing for the automation of manufacturing and distribution tasks for customers worldwide. Machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing or distribution and tracking of discrete items, such as mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries and e-commerce packages, by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them. Machine vision is important for applications in which human vision is inadequate to meet requirements for size, accuracy, or speed, or in instances where substantial cost savings or quality improvements are maintained.