Hexagon takes full ownership of China's ZG Technology
What's the deal? HexagonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired the remaining 49% of Wuhan ZG Automation TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, taking its stake in the 3D scanning specialist to 100%. The Swedish measurement group first bought a 51% majority in August 2021 and has consolidated ZG within its Manufacturing Intelligence Business Area since then.
Who's ZG? Founded in 2014, the Wuhan-based company builds on the photogrammetry and remote sensing work of Wuhan University. It develops handheld 3D scanners in-house, backed by its own software copyrights and patents.
Those scanners handle quality inspection, reverse engineering, and the digitisation of complex parts. Customers span automotive, aerospace, rail, heavy industry, casting, medical, and research.
Why now? Full ownership gives Hexagon what a majority stake could not: unrestricted access to ZG's intellectual property. That removes barriers to joint R&D and lets the group build one handheld platform instead of two.
What's the endgame? "We can invest in R&D at pace, develop one handheld platform rather than two, and put ZG's scanners in front of customers well beyond China," said Li Hongquan, president of Hexagon's China region. He added that ZG becomes the group's "centre of excellence for portable metrology," with Wuhan positioned to "build technology for the world."
Hexagon said the deal has no material impact on its financial results. The group, listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, has roughly 16,000 employees across 50 countries and net sales of about €3.7 billion.
The signal: The move deepens Hexagon's manufacturing footprint in China while converting a Chinese scanning firm into a global export base. For a company built on precision measurement, owning ZG's patents outright is the difference between sharing a roadmap and setting one.
Read more: placera.se
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
