3M to acquire Cogent for about $943 million

Pasadena-based Cogent Inc., which makes fingerprint scanners and other biometric identification devices, has agreed to be bought by the king of Post-It notes, 3M Co., in a deal worth about $943 million.

3M, which produces a wide variety of items including office supplies and medical equipment, makes its own biometric identification products.

“For a couple of years we’ve been offering some products related to biometric passports, driver’s licenses, national IDs, border security technologies, things like that, mostly to law enforcement agencies,” said Donna Fleming Runyon, a 3M spokeswoman. “This acquisition will be complementary to each of those offerings. Biometric is a high-growth area for us.”

Cogent’s board agreed to the 3M deal, which offers $10.50 a share, according to a joint statement issued Monday morning. But Wall Street apparently thinks a higher bidder might emerge. By the close of trading, Cogent shares had risen $2.18, or 24%, to $11.09.

Cogent was started by Ming Hsieh, who missed school for 10 years during China’s Cultural Revolution when his family was sent to a remote village to work on a rice farm. Hsieh, who holds engineering degrees from USC, became a billionaire when Cogent went public in 2004. In its first day of trading, its shares soared to $17.98 from $12.

Sales peaked for the company in 2005 at $160 million, then tumbled in 2006 and 2007. Last year Cogent brought in about $130 million. According to the statement, Cogent will operate as a subsidiary of 3M if the acquisition goes through. Neither company would comment on how the deal might affect Cogent’s 500 employees.

3M, headquartered in Maplewood, Minn., has more than 75,000 employees and had about $23 billion in sales worldwide last year.

nathan.olivarezgiles@latimes.com

Times staff writer Tom Petruno contributed to this report.