The atmosphere at the annual DMG MORI press conference at Deckel Maho Pfronten, Germany, couldn’t have been better. After the announcement two weeks ago that the Japanese partner DMG Mori Seiki Co would take over DMG Mori AG in Germany by acquiring the majority of the shares, one could have thought there might be a bit of hostility in the air.

But Dr. Masahiko Mori, president of DMG Mori Seiki Co and Dr. Rüdiger Kapitza, chairman of the Executive Board of DMG Mori Seiki AG, appeared more united on the stage than ever before, it seemed. Dr. Mori emphasised that his plans to buy the majority of AG’s shares for €27.50 were by no means a take over, but rather a „coming together“, after having worked closely together for six years now.

Both managers asserted that the price of €27.50 per share was a very fair price, even though the shares are currently ranking around the €29 mark; Kapitza added that the offer was a very fair and good offer, considering that the average share value over the last six months was €19.

While Kapitza admitted that the time of the merger came as a bit of a surprise, it was a logical consequence of the partnership (both in technological developments as well as sales and service) between DMG and Mori Seiki, and interest rates were low at the moment. Founding a new company that was traded on both stock exchanges in Japan and Germany at the same time was too complicated and risky to realise. As a result, both companies decided it would be best if the Japanese DMG Mori Co took over the German partner, as credits and conditions were easier to handle in Japan.

Mori emphasised that the shareholders are not everything, when asked about the amount of his offer. To him, customers and suppliers are important and by buying the majority of the shares the companies would move closer together, protecting their technlogy and knowledge.

At the Pfronten Open House this week, DMG Mori expects to sell around 700 machines; very optimistic figures but achievable, as last year’s financial results have shown. According to Kapitza, 2014 was the best year for the AG ever, and while the overall forecast figures in terms of machine tool sales are looking positive for 2015, he said that 2015 would not be the easiest year, considering volatile political and economic circumstances.