3M completes acquisition of Cogent Inc

The 23-billion turnover 3M has disclosed that it had completed its acquisition of fingerprint idemntification system firm Cogent Inc, following the approval of the merger agreement by Cogent's stockholders at a special meeting held on 1 December 2010.

3M had announced its agreement to acquire Cogent in August, in a deal valued at $943 million.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Cogent's stockholders are entitled to receive $10.50 per share in cash.

California-based Cogent is a global biometric identification solutions provider. Its Automated Fingerprint / Palmprint Identification Systems, or AFIS, enable customers to capture fingerprint and palm print images electronically, encode prints into searchable files, and accurately compare a set of fingerprints / palm prints to a database containing potentially millions of prints in seconds.

3M, best known for its yellow sticky pads, Scotch tapes and adhesives stick, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchgard protective products to protect fabrics and surfaces as well as Vikuiti optical films that make LCD screens brighter and more energy efficient, said in a statement, ''Adding Cogent's technologies - in finger, palm, face and iris biometric systems for governments, law enforcement agencies, and commercial enterprises - to our business is a significant strategic addition to our security credential issuance and authentication product portfolio and service offering.''

With the closing of the transaction, Cogent's common stock ceased to trade on NASDAQ at market close on Wednesday, 1 December as it has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M. The subsidiary will be known as 3M Cogent Inc.