2024-09-25 19:21:37
Patience pays off. After Nano Dimension acquired Desktop Metal a few months ago, it is now acquiring Markforged. This is happening at $5 per share, almost 70% more than in the past period, but at the beginning of 2021 Markforged achieved its highest price ever on the stock exchange: $127.50.
“The combination with Markforged enables us to undertake Nano Dimension bold move in its journey to become a leader in digital manufacturing and a fundamental pillar of Industry 4.0,” says Yoav Stern, CEO of Nano Dimension, citing Markforged as an exceptional company with innovative AM materials and solutions for real manufacturing.
Markforged CEO: Acquisition provides needed scale and balance
Smart deal
The CEO of Nano Dimension is not sitting well with all shareholders. But he seems to have waited long enough to spend the company’s mountain of cash on 3D printing companies whose stock prices are a drop in the ocean. The total consideration for Markforged is about $115 million. As of last summer, however, there was still more than $66 million net in cash (after deducting a provision for a patent dispute). Shai Terem, Chief Executive Officer, President and member of the board of directors of Markforged, says the combined companies have the scale and balance sheet size to become an even more reliable partner for customers, market leaders in a variety of industries.
Broadening technology portfolio
With this acquisition, the Israeli company is expanding its AM technology portfolio. FFF (filament) was not yet included. Together with its own PCB printers, binder technology, sand printing and DLP technology from Desktop Metal, the merged company can increasingly offer customers a suitable technology in all phases of a product’s life cycle. By offering more metal fabrication solutions, customers find what they need for their specific needs, when they need itas Nano Dimension itself says about this.
Continuous fibers and metal
Markforged’s materials portfolio is considered at least as important. The capabilities of continuous fibers are re-enabling metal strength in polymer-based applications, leading to structural and weight improvements that open up whole new areas of AM. This translates into an improved business model where broad material development should lead to more recurring revenues, according to the press release from Nano Dimensions.
Who will follow, because the cash register is still well filled
Whether Yoav Stern’s hunger for acquisitions has been satisfied is questionable. After the completion of the deal with Desktop Metal and Markforged, the company still has around $465 million in cash. Not quite enough to take over Stratasys. Incidentally, Markforged achieved a turnover of $20.5 million in the second quarter of this year (almost $4 million less than a year earlier). The net loss in the second quarter was $35.9 million. That is distorted by the reservation for the buyout of a patent case with Continuous Composites. There were lawsuits on both sides. The parties recently reached a deal about this, which Markforged $25 million. The company can easily pay that because at the end of June there was still $93.9 million in the cash register.
The new combination – Nano Dimension, Dekstop Metal and Markforged – is said to have generated revenues of $340 million last year, making it one of the larger players in the sector.
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