Stratasys and Desktop Metal to Merge in $1.8 Billion Deal

IMTS

Share this Article

After US stock markets closed on Wednesday, May 25, Bloomberg reported that “people familiar with the matter” told the website that 3D printing industry pioneer Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS) was “in talks” for an all-stock acquisition of Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM). Bloomberg noted the deal could happen as soon as this week, and as a result of the news, DM stock went up almost 19 points in post-market trading.

On Thursday morning, the two companies announced that the deal had gone through, and they will combine in a $1.8 billion transaction. Through the deal, Desktop shareholders will receive .123 ordinary shares of Stratasys stock, with Stratasys shareholders owning around 59 percent of the new company, and Desktop shareholders owning the remaining 41 percent.

While the merger news has a surprise element to it, it’s worth mentioning that Stratasys was an early investor in Desktop and Scott Crump was a Board Observer for the company. According to the firms, they aim to create $1.1 billion in revenue by 2025 with “a total addressable market of more than 100 billion USD by 2032.”

Although M&A activity has slowed down in both 3D printing and general industry alongside the fiscal turmoil of the last year, neither Stratasys nor Desktop Metal are strangers to M&As. Stratasys, of course, has just recently resisted three buyout offers from Nano Dimension, while Desktop went on an acquisition tear all throughout 2021.

In turn, Stratasys is getting a wide portfolio of brands, including EnvisionTEC and ExOne. And given the diversity of the investments that Desktop has made, Stratasys also has access to a rather unique set of innovative applications, including 3D printed foam and upcycled wood.

In a press release about the deal, Dr. Yoav Zeif, Stratasys CEO, said, “Today is an important day in Stratasys’ evolution. …With attractive positions across complementary product offerings, including aerospace, automotive, consumer products, healthcare and dental, as well as one of the largest and most experienced R&D teams, industry-leading go-to-market infrastructure and a robust balance sheet, the combined company will be committed to delivering ongoing innovation while providing outstanding service to customers.”

Ric Fulop, CEO and Co-Founder of Desktop Metal, added, “The combination of these two great companies marks a turning point in driving the next phase of additive manufacturing for mass production.”

Stratasys’ strength in dental means that the company is well-poised to make optimal use of EnvisionTEC. Image courtesy of Stratasys

But the company’s metal holdings are still the big draw, especially the binder jetting technology that Desktop acquired in its purchase of ExOne. In this sense, Stratasys acquiring Desktop is a move along the same lines as Markforged’s 2022 acquisition of Digital Metal, only on a much larger scale.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that of all selling points for Desktop, its ownership of ExOne is what made it arguably a bargain right now. Whether or not Desktop overpaid can be debated, as the sale happened right as the last bull market was ending, but the sale price in November, 2021 was a little over $550 million. Desktop’s entire market cap right now isn’t much higher than that, so for the price the company paid for ExOne, Stratasys gets ExOne and a whole lot more.

The X160 Pro metal binder jetting platform, one of the crown jewels of the Desktop portfolio. Image courtesy of Desktop Metal

I’ve thought for awhile that Desktop Metal makes perfect sense as an acquisition for a larger company, and Stratasys in particular will be bolstered in terms of its expanded footprint into the largest-scale, most complex additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. Finally, there is simply the possibility that, by acquiring Desktop, Stratasys has put itself fully out of Nano Dimension’s reach, but this seems like it would only make sense if Stratasys had been planning on the acquisition anyhow.

Most importantly, the merger gets everyone’s engines revving for 3D printing M&As, which was likely at least partially the point for the aforementioned “people familiar with the matter” (McKinsey consultants? Cathie Wood?). That being a possibility follows simply from the fact that the ownership in the industry is so tightly concentrated.

This is significant not just for the people who will directly benefit from any potential M&As. It is pivotal for the entire industry, if only because a big wave of M&A’s will likely mark the moment when, from an investor’s perspective, 3D printing companies start to bottom out.

Share this Article


Recent News

Liquid Metal 3D Printing Sector Emerges with Fluent Metal’s $5.5M Investment

3DPOD Episode 191: Amy Alexander, 3D Printing at the Mayo Clinic



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3DPOD Episode 190: Generative Design for 3D Printing with Novineer CEO Ali Tamijani

Ali Tamijani, a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has an extensive background in composites, tool pathing, and the development of functional 3D printed parts,...

Featured

3DPOD Episode 189: AMUG President Shannon VanDeren

Shannon VanDeren is a consultant in the 3D printing industry, focusing on implementation and integration for her company, Layered Manufacturing and Consulting. For nearly ten years, she has been involved...

3DPOD Episode 188: Clare Difazio of E3D – Growing the Industry, and Growing With the Industry

Clare DiFazio’s journey into the 3D printing industry was serendipitous, yet her involvement at critical moments has significantly influenced the sector. Her position as Head of Marketing & Product Strategy...

Featured

Printing Money Episode 15: 3D Printing Markets & Deals, with AM Research and AMPOWER

Printing Money returns with Episode 15! This month, NewCap Partners‘ Danny Piper is joined by Scott Dunham, Executive Vice President of Research at Additive Manufacturing (AM) Research, and Matthias Schmidt-Lehr,...