Minebea Co. Ltd. (Japan) has acquired Myonic Holding GmbH (Germany), which will become part of Minebea's New Hampshire Ball Bearing (NHBB) division.

Founded in 1936 as RMB, Myonic manufactures a range of high precision specialty miniature bearings and complex bearing-related assemblies. The company's headquarters and primary manufacturing is in Leutkirch, Germany; there is an assembly plant in the Czech Republic. Myonic also has sales offices in the UK and in Ringwood, New Jersey. Annual sales are approximately USD $40 million.

Minebea said Myonic is an important addition to its core business of manufacturing precision miniature bearings. Myonic brings not only a wider product line and increased penetration in its key markets -- specifically medical, dental and aerospace -- but also a contributes a strong presence in Europe.

Front: Olivier Weddrien, MD of DZ Equity Partner; Takayuki Yamagishi, President and CEO of Minebea; Joachim Hug, Partner in Sud Private Equity; Bernhard Boeck, MD of Myonic Holding; Walter Heilmann, MD of Myonic Holding

New Hampshire Ball Bearings will take operational control of Myonic; its product line and market position in Europe neatly leverages New Hampshire Ball Bearing's product line and market position in North America. Myonic also gives Minebea a strong presence to expand for its aerospace bearing business in Europe.

With the acquisition, Minebea said it will continue to emphasize growth in its specialty bearings business; large size ball and roller bearings for the medical, dental, and aerospace markets; and high volume standard bearings produced in Southeast Asia.

The specialty bearings now include miniature and instrument bearings in both inch and metric sizes, thinex and torque tube bearings, airframe bearings, thrust bearings, X-ray tube bearings, next-up assemblies, and mid-size precision bearings.

Minebea now awaits approval by Germany's ministry for competition protection, the Bundeskartellamt [website; see filing B5-21/09]. While approval is likely, the ministry in Bonn is more active than its equivalent in most countries. In 2003, the ministry twice refused to approve the acquisition of French precision bearing manufacturer SNFA by FAG or INA under the Schaeffler Group. SNFA was acquired by SKF in 2006.
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