Stratasys received another uninvited takeover bid, this time from 3D Systems of Rock Hill, S.C., a maker of 3-D Printers.
This offer follows several unsolicited offers from Israeli company Nano Dimensions, and Stratasys own offer to purchase Massachusetts company Desktop Metal.
3D Systems CEO Jeffrey Graves stated that the 3-D Printing Industry is at an Inflection Point.
Graves, in a news release about Stratasys’ offer, said: “We see significant benefits for our investors and all stakeholders through leveraging the scale of the company and enhancing innovation while delivering long-term profit growth.”
3D Systems’ offer to Stratasys consists of $7.50 cash and $1.2507 in Stratasys stock. For every Stratasys share, 3D Systems will issue new shares of common stock.
Stratasys – a company with offices in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Rehovot (Israel) – has rejected several takeover proposals from Nano Dimension – an Israeli additive manufacturer and its biggest shareholder.
3D Systems announced its offer for Desktop Metal on May 30th, just days after Stratasys had made a bid worth $588 million.
In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Stratasys company board said it would carefully examine the proposal from 3D Systems, while also keeping in mind the offer made by Desktop Metal to acquire the company.
Graves stated in a press release that “the combination of 3D Systems with Stratasys simply is the best outcome for shareholders of both businesses.”
He said, “We believe that it is time for everyone to see the logic behind our two companies coming together.”
The Nano Dimension proposal was rejected by the Stratasys Board of Directors on the same day that 3D Systems made its offer.
According to Brian Drab, an analyst for William Blair & Company who covers companies in the additive manufacturing industry, 3D Systems’ offer is roughly equivalent to the three offers made by Nano Dimension.
Drab wrote an email that “We believe 3D Systems is being opportunistic in making an offer Stratasys’ shareholders may consider the best option of three suboptimal alternatives.” “We believe 3D Systems will have to pay at least $18 per share in order to complete a deal.”
3D Systems said that it had acknowledged Nano Dimension’s offers and stated in a news release that the offer was a 35% increase over the stock price of Stratasys on March 9, a day before Nano Dimension first made an offer for Stratasys. The share price for Stratasys was closed at $14.01 in March.
The promise of 3D printing continues to grow. The technology is now advanced enough to allow 3-D printers to make large-scale parts for production purposes, not just prototypes.
Stratasys, as well as 3D Systems, have acquired companies over the years to enhance their technology and build their market position.
3D Systems reported a revenue of $538 millions in 2022. This is down 12.6% on the year before. It’s bigger and older than Nano Dimension with revenue of only $43.6 millions.
Stratasys reported revenue of $651,5 million in 2018, up 7.3% since 2022. Stratasys is focused on becoming a leader in polymer 3-D printers. 3D Systems manufactures metal and plastic 3-D Printers.
Nano Dimension owns 14,3% of Stratasys’s shares, complicating the situation.
Plus, Stratasys’ recent offer for Desktop Metal includes a termination agreement that requires Stratasys to pay a fee of $32.5 million to cancel the Desktop Metal deal.
3D Systems announced layoffs this year, as did Desktop Metal. 3D Systems officials announced that they would reduce headcount by 6% on their first quarter earnings call. Desktop Metal, meanwhile, had announced a 15% reduction in its employee base.
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