Gildemeister AG has increased slightly its holding in Mori Seiki Co. Ltd. to 5.1%, making it the largest shareholder in that company. The two machine tool builders have maintained a cross-ownership strategy for about two years. Twice this year, Mori Seiki has purchased specially issued stock to raise its holding in Gildemeister to 20.1%. It is likewise the largest investor in the German company.
Mori Seiki designs and builds CNC lathes, multi-axis turning centers, and vertical and horizontal machining centers, and develops application systems. Gildemeister AG is a holding company for the DMG, Deckel Maho, Gildemeister brands, which include turning and milling technology, along with control systems.
In 2009 each company agreed to acquire a 5% share of the other, meaning Gildemeister’s current investment in Mori Seiki raises its position only marginally. In addition, each company cross-markets the others’ products and maintains regional service and supply programs for their partner’s brands
In its latest earnings report, Gildemeister announced second-quarter revenues of $2.83 million on the strength of improved demand for machine tools worldwide. In the second quarter of 2010 Gildemeister reported a loss of over $6 million. It said it expects its full-year revenue to rise, and to pay a dividend for the year.
Also, as of June 30 Gildemeister reports it has an order backlog of about $1.09 billion, an 8% increase over the second quarter of 2010.
