Laser M&A Report:
Laser Sector Sees Surge in M&A Activity

Q2 2025 – M&A trends, valuation multiples and transactions in the Laser sector

Personal Note: Laser Sector Sees Surge in M&A Activity

Yole recently titled their latest laser market report “The Laser Industry remains resilient … with a projected 5% CAGR through 2029”. What might once have been seen as underwhelming appears good news now. Although the expected growth rate for publicly traded companies of the ARTHOS Laser Index for the next 12 months results in a median of 7.4% – which is above the projected market average – yet still not particularly exciting.

Arno Pätzold

Managing Partner ARTHOS
Expert in Sensors, Automation, Semiconductor & Photonics

arno.paetzold@arthos.de

Laser Sector Sees Surge in M&A Activity in 2024 and 2025

Interestingly, despite market weakness, 2024 and early 2025 witnessed a wave of significant M&A activity in the laser industry. These included major private transactions such as Teledyne’s acquisition of Qioptiq Group from PE-backed Excelitas for $710M (originally acquired in 2013 for $113M), and the purchase of SciAps by Malvern Analytics (a subsidiary of Spectris, LON: SXS) for $260M (~14x EV/EBITDA). Public takeovers also occurred, such as Alcon (SWX: ALC) acquiring LENSAR (NASDAQ: LNSR) for $430M – a premium of nearly 50%. A closer look at these transactions reveals not only a high volume but also attractive valuations for sellers, which cannot be explained by a modest 5% CAGR. This suggests strong investor confidence in much higher future growth rates.

To understand these dynamics, a detailed analysis across subsegments is essential. Promising areas of above average growth include industrial lasers for EV battery manufacturing, the transition from CO₂ and solid-state lasers to fiber lasers, high-speed optical data transmission, medical lasers for dermatology and aesthetics, as well as LiDAR and in-cabin sensing for autonomous driving. Of particular note is the forecasted CAGR of 42% by Yole in silicon photonics through 2029, where demand for faster and more energy-efficient data transmission is driving innovation.

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Grafik über: Laserbranche verzeichnet einen Anstieg der M&A-Aktivitäten in 2024 und 2025

PitchBook & Capital IQ (as of 17 June, 2025)

Laser sub-sector analysis: No dominating M&A Player, acquisitions are practiced by all

Not only were the prices paid good, but also the quantity of transactions was surprisingly high. In this report, we listed over 40 perecent transactions, and above 20% of those were based in Germany. These include Corning Laser Technologies GmbH in Krailling being acquired by 4JET Group strengthening its position in laser-based glass processing and Photona’s acquisition of FOC&T in Burghausen to expand its footprint into medical photonics. In this dynamic environment, we expect continuing consolidation and attractive valuation for sellers.