M&A Acquirer Playbook

AMETEK Inc acquisition history.

Every deal, price, and strategic rationale.

Company AMETEK Inc
SEC CIK 0001037868
Tracked filings EDGAR · 8-K
Total deals tracked
56
Disclosed 8-K acquisitions, 2011 — present.
Aggregate disclosed value
$15B
More than $15 billion deployed across disclosed transactions - anchored by the ~$5.0B Indicor Instrumentation carve-out, ~$1.9B Paragon Medical, ~$1.35B Abaco Systems, ~$925M Gatan and ~$920M FARO Technologies.
Active acquisition years
2011 / 2012 / 2014 / 2016 / 2018 / 2021
multiple tuck-ins per year; 2012 (7 deals) and 2018 and 2021 (6 deals each) the most active.
Primary sectors
Niche instrumentation and electromechanical technology
split across the Electronic Instruments Group (EIG) and Electromechanical Group (EMG); test and measurement, sensors, aerospace/defense and MedTech - FARO, Gatan, Spectro Scientific, Abaco, Paragon Medical, Dunkermotoren.
Verified 56 deals on this page · sourced from SEC filings + 1 earnings transcript
All cross-references covered.

56 deals, $15B deployed.

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Click any marker to jump to the deal entry.

2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 $5.0B May 2026 Indicor Instrumentation First Aviation Services · May 2026 LKC Technologies · Feb 2026 $920M Jul 2025 FARO Technologies $1.9B Dec 2023 Paragon Medical United Electronic Indus… · Sep 2023 Alphasense · Dec 2021 $1.35B Apr 2021 Abaco Systems $270M Mar 2021 Magnetrol International $270M Mar 2021 Crank Software $270M Feb 2021 EGS Automation $925M Oct 2019 Gatan $125M Sep 2019 Pacific Design Technolo… $190M Nov 2018 Spectro Scientific Kern Microtechnik · Jan 2025 $117.5M Oct 2024 Virtek Vision Internati… Bison Gear & Engineering · Mar 2023 Amplifier Research · Oct 2023 $429.7M Sep 2022 Navitar $429.7M Oct 2022 RTDS Technologies $1,959.2M Apr 2021 NSI-MI Technologies $116.5M Jan 2020 IntelliPower $1,129.3M Jan 2018 FMH Aerospace $1,129.3M Apr 2018 SoundCom Systems $1,129.3M Jun 2018 Motec GmbH $1,129.3M Oct 2018 Forza Silicon $525M Oct 2018 Telular Corporation $556.6M Feb 2017 Rauland-Borg $556.6M Jun 2017 MOCON $556.6M Dec 2017 Arizona Instrument $391.4M Jan 2016 Brookfield Engineering… $391.4M Jan 2016 ESP/SurgeX $391.4M Jul 2016 HS Foils $391.4M Jul 2016 Nu Instruments $391.4M Oct 2016 Laserage Technology $356.5M May 2015 Global Tubes $356.5M Jul 2015 Surface Vision (Cognex… $573.6M Jan 2014 Teseq Group $573.6M Feb 2014 VTI Instruments $573.6M May 2014 Luphos GmbH $573.6M Jun 2014 Zygo Corporation $573.6M Aug 2014 Amptek $414.3M Aug 2013 Controls Southeast (CSI) $414.3M Oct 2013 Creaform $747.7M Jan 2012 O'Brien Corporation $747.7M May 2012 Dunkermotoren GmbH $747.7M Oct 2012 Micro-Poise Measurement… $747.7M Dec 2012 Aero Components Interna… $747.7M Dec 2012 Avtech Avionics and Ins… $747.7M Dec 2012 Sunpower $747.7M Dec 2012 Crystal Engineering $474.9M Apr 2011 Avicenna Technology $474.9M May 2011 Coining Holding Company $474.9M Oct 2011 Reichert Technologies $474.9M Oct 2011 EM Test $474.9M Dec 2011 Technical Manufacturing…

The rationale that repeats.

Three patterns show up across AMETEK's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the individual deals below are the evidence.

01
Acquisition criteria

Disciplined serial tuck-ins inside the AMETEK Growth Model.

AMETEK runs an active, continuous deal pipeline, completing multiple acquisitions per year that slot into one of two operating groups (EIG or EMG). Management frames each deal as an "excellent strategic fit" that "nicely complements" an existing business, and the 10-K describes acquisitions as one of the Four Growth Strategies alongside Operational Excellence, Global and Market Expansion, and New Product Development.

Indicor InstrumentationFirst Aviation ServicesLKC TechnologiesFARO TechnologiesParagon Medical
02
Capital deployment

Buying differentiated, mission-critical niche technology.

The targets are leaders in narrow, defensible markets: electron microscopy (Gatan), 3D metrology (FARO, Creaform, Zygo), embedded computing (Abaco), gas sensing (Alphasense), and engineered medical components (Paragon). AMETEK repeatedly cites "differentiated technology," "leadership positions" and "attractive growth markets" as the buy thesis rather than scale for its own sake.

Indicor InstrumentationFirst Aviation ServicesLKC TechnologiesFARO TechnologiesParagon Medical
03
Integration approach

Scaling up while still bolting on.

The deal book ranges from sub-$50M tuck-ins absorbed into existing brands to transformational platforms: the ~$5.0B Indicor Instrumentation carve-out is the largest in company history, following ~$1.9B Paragon (MedTech), ~$1.35B Abaco (aerospace/defense) and ~$925M Gatan (analytical instruments). Larger targets are funded with cash and new debt and integrated into AMETEK's operating model for margin expansion.

Indicor InstrumentationFirst Aviation ServicesLKC TechnologiesFARO TechnologiesParagon Medical

The full deal book.

56 acquisitions. Click any row to see the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.

End of deal book
56 acquisitions · $15B deployed ·2011 — present
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