3M Co. said Friday that it has completed its cash tender offer for Cogent, Inc., a California-based maker of fingerprint-identification systems.
The Maplewood-based giant said that about 46.4 million shares, or about 52 percent of Cogent's stock, had been tendered when the offer expired Thursday.
A subsequent offering period, set to expire Oct. 22, will allow Cogent stockholders who haven't already tendered their shares to do so for the same $10.50-per-share paid during the initial offering period.
3M's $10.50-per-share bid had been challenged by some large Cogent shareholders, who said they thought it was too low. Earlier this week a judge in Delaware Chancery Court rejected those arguments.
Cogent stock had consistently traded above $10.50 a share since the deal was announced Aug. 30, a signal that some investors believed that a higher bid would emerge. The stock closed at $10.49 a share Friday, down 4 cents.
SUSAN FEYDER
