3M Slides After Acquisition Announcement (MMM)

U.S. manufacturer 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) is down more than 1.2% this afternoon, after the company announced it had agreed to buy Cogent Inc. (NASDAQ: COGT) for more than $900 million.

3M said it would pay $10.50 a share to buy Cogent, a 17% premium over Friday's closing price. Shares are trading at $10.91 this afternoon, suggesting that a rival bid may be possible.

According to a Reuters report, "Cogent, based in Pasadena, California, makes automated fingerprint and palmprint identification systems -- called biometrics -- that allow its customers to capture fingerprint and palm print images electronically, encode prints into searchable files, and compare sets of prints."

3M said the deal will help expand its position in the market for law enforcement systems, and estimates the $4 billion biometric market will grow by 20% a year.

Investors don't appear to be swayed by the purchase, however. 3M stock is continuing to fall this afternoon, down $0.97 to $80.03.