Linos

Linos was a German publicly listed company that developed and sold optical systems and components for optical devices. Its origins trace back to 1898, when Spindler & Hoyer was founded in Göttingen. In February 1996, Gerd Litfin acquired the company through a management buy-out and renamed it Linos. The company subsequently acquired several precision optics manufacturers, including Steeg & Reuter Präzisionsoptik, Franke Optik Vertriebsgesellschaft, Gsänger Optoelektronik, and Rodenstock Präzisionsoptik. Linos AG went public in September 2000, with an initial listing price of 73 euros, reaching a high of 115.10 euros shortly after. The company developed and supplied devices and components for applications in lasers, metrology, medicine, biotechnology, and semiconductors. Examples included head-up displays, 3D dental cameras, optical systems for eye surgery, camera solutions for X-ray image intensifiers, and mobile phone lenses. In passive precision optics, Linos offered standard components such as lenses, mirrors, prisms, and polarizers in a wide range of variants, and was one of the few manufacturers of Faraday isolators and Pockels cells. Another major product area was mechanical components for holding and positioning optical elements, from simple lens mounts to rail systems, mirror holders, and optical tables. Development and production took place in Göttingen, Feldkirchen near Munich, and Regen. In October 2006, the French Qioptiq Group acquired Linos by purchasing more than 75% of its shares. A domination and profit transfer agreement was concluded in December 2006 and approved in February 2007. A squeeze-out was resolved in August 2008, and since August 2009 Linos has no longer been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. On 24 November 2010, Qioptiq Beteiligungs GmbH was merged into the company, and Linos was renamed Qioptiq. The former Linos companies belong to Qioptiq's Photonic Systems Division (PSD). Qioptiq has been part of the US group Excelitas Technologies since 2013. The Linos brand name continues to be used.

The origins of Linos date back to 1898, when the company Spindler & Hoyer was founded in Göttingen. In 1983, Gerd Litfin began his work in the management of Spindler & Hoyer GmbH. In February 1996, Litfin acquired the company through a management buy-out and renamed it Linos. In the following years, Linos strategically acquired manufacturers of precision optics components, including Steeg & Reuter Präzisionsoptik and Franke Optik Vertriebsgesellschaft in Gießen, Gsänger Optoelektronik GmbH in Planegg, and Rodenstock Präzisionsoptik in Munich. In September 2000, Linos AG went public. The initial listing of the Linos share was at 73 euros, and a few days later it reached a high of 115.10 euros. A year later, in September 2001, Linos acquired Lees Optical Instruments Co. Inc., a manufacturer of high-quality mirror holders based in Boulder, Colorado, USA. In September 2003, Linos reported a loss of 8.7 million euros (EBIT) for the first three quarters of 2003. The share price fell to 2.30 euros. After the sale of the Gießen plant to Jenoptik in April 2004 and extensive rationalization measures, a profit of 9.7 million euros was achieved for 2004. During the same period, the share price gradually recovered to about 10 euros. From 2005, a production center was built in Regen with an investment volume of around 5.3 million euros and commenced operation in summer 2006. In October 2006, the French Qioptiq Group acquired Linos by purchasing more than 75% of the shares. On 20 December 2006, Linos concluded a domination and profit transfer agreement with Opt-co Akquisitions (today Qioptiq Holding Deutschland GmbH). This agreement was approved by the Linos shareholders' meeting on 6 February 2007. At the shareholders' meeting on 25 August 2008, a squeeze-out was resolved; at that time Qioptiq already held more than 95% of Linos shares. Since August 2009, Linos has no longer been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. On 24 November 2010, Qioptiq Beteiligungs GmbH was merged into the company (registered in the commercial register on 21 December 2010). At the same time, Linos was renamed Qioptiq. The former Linos companies belong to the Photonic Systems Division (PSD) of Qioptiq – one of three divisions of the group. At the end of 2009, 869 employees were employed at the locations Göttingen, Feldkirchen (Munich), Regen, Asslar, Hamble (UK), and Rochester (NY, USA). The Photonic Systems Division generated revenues of around 40% of Qioptiq's total revenue in 2009. Qioptiq has been part of the US group Excelitas Technologies since 2013. The Linos brand name continues to be used.

• 2013

  Qioptiq becomes part of US group Excelitas Technologies.

• 2010

  Qioptiq Beteiligungs GmbH merged into the company on 24 November; Linos renamed Qioptiq.

• 2009

  Delisted from Frankfurt Stock Exchange in August; US sales company merged with Qioptiq US subsidiary to form Qioptiq Linos Inc. on 1 January.

• 2008

  Squeeze-out resolved at shareholders' meeting on 25 August; Qioptiq holds more than 95% of shares.

• 2007

  Shareholders' meeting approves domination and profit transfer agreement on 6 February.

• 2006

  Production center in Regen begins operation in summer; Qioptiq Group acquires more than 75% of Linos shares in October.

• 2004

  Sale of Gießen plant to Jenoptik in April; profit of 9.7 million euros for 2004.

• 2003

  Reported loss of 8.7 million euros (EBIT) for first three quarters; share price fell to 2.30 euros.

• 2001

  Acquisition of Lees Optical Instruments Co. Inc., Boulder, Colorado, USA.

• 2000

  IPO of Linos AG in September; initial listing at 73 euros, later high of 115.10 euros.

• 1996

  Management buy-out by Gerd Litfin; company renamed Linos.

• 1983

  Gerd Litfin begins work in the management of Spindler & Hoyer GmbH.

• 1898

  Spindler & Hoyer founded in Göttingen, the origin of Linos.

A precision optics and photonics manufacturer serving high-tech industries, known for a broad range of standard components and specialized devices.

• Optical systems for lasers, metrology, medicine, biotechnology, and semiconductors

• Head-up displays

• 3D dental cameras

• Optical systems for eye surgery

• Camera solutions for X-ray image intensifiers

• Mobile phone lenses

• Lenses, mirrors, prisms, polarizers

• Faraday isolators

• Pockels cells

• Mechanical components for holding and positioning optical elements

1. 1Linos (Unternehmen) - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
2. 2Linos (Unternehmen) - Wikidatawikidata.org