Nano Dimension to Acquire Desktop Metal in Strategic Move

On Wednesday, Nano Dimension revealed its plans to acquire Desktop Metal. The financial terms are still being finalized, with the purchase price expected to fall between $135 million and $183 million. At the higher end, this represents a more than 27% premium over Desktop Metal's recent closing price.

This announcement concludes over two years of significant activity among leading players in the additive manufacturing sector. After Desktop Metal experienced a 12% staff reduction in July 2022, Nano Dimension acquired a 12% stake in Stratasys, an industrial 3D printing leader and owner of MakerBot. During this period, Nano Dimension also navigated its own shareholder issues, while Desktop Metal went through additional layoffs.

In a notable development, Nano Dimension attempted a takeover of Stratasys, which was declined. Shortly thereafter, Stratasys and Desktop Metal announced their merger plans, only to see the deal fall through amidst competing bids from 3D Systems. Both Nano Dimension and 3D Systems made multiple acquisition offers for Stratasys, all of which were rejected.

In September, Desktop Metal CEO Ric Fulop emphasized the company's independence and its strong financial position, declaring, “We’re 100% independent. Our company is not for sale. Contrary to what people make up, if you look at our cash position and our expenses, going into our first profitable quarter with around $100 million,” Fulop said at the time. “We don’t need to sell our company, we like our company. And we weren’t selling our company, we were merging our company, we were going to remain working at the company. So, I would say our goal going forward is to grow Desktop Metal independently and make it the best company in mass production in additive.”

Now, eight months later, Fulop expressed optimism about the acquisition by Nano Dimension. In a statement, he said, “We’re excited to bring together our pioneering, complementary product portfolios that will further enhance our ability to serve our customers in high-growth industries with a more complete offering of digital manufacturing technologies for metal, electronics, casting, polymer, micro-polymer and ceramics applications. We look forward to working with Nano Dimension to join two great companies and their devoted teams that can serve our stakeholders to the maximum extent possible.”

Nano Dimension noted that the deal has been “unanimously approved” by both companies’ boards of directors and plans to finalize the acquisition using cash reserves by Q4 of this year.