Patrick Pittman
Bre Pettis MakerBot
Leading 3D printing industry player Stratasys has announced that its merger with desktop 3D printing giant MakerBot has now been completed.
Both companies rocked the sector when it was revealed on June 19th that Stratasys was the mystery company vying to purchase the New York-headquartered business, after rumours of an acquisition had peppered the technology media pages for weeks.
Stratasys is a 3D printing pioneer with more than 25 years of experience in bringing designers' and engineers' ideas to life. Four-year-old MakerBot helped to bring desktop 3D printing to the fore and has built the largest installed base of 3D printers in this category by making 3D printing accessible. MakerBot has sold more than 22,000 printers since it was founded in 2009.
Consistent with the terms of the merger, Stratasys will issue up to 4.7 million of its shares in exchange for 100 per cent of the outstanding capital stock of MakerBot. MakerBot stakeholders will qualify for performance-based earn-outs providing for the issue of up to an additional 2.36 million shared through the end of 2014. Those earn-outs, if earned, will be made in Stratasys shares or cash in an amount reflecting the value of the units of Stratasys stock that would have otherwise been issued at the relevant earn-out determined date, or a combination thereof at the discretion of Stratasys.
CEO of MakerBot Bre Pettis reflected the company's enthusiasm for the deal with Stratasys by stating: "We are excited for the future - full speed ahead!"
David Reis, CEO of Stratasys, commented: "Stratasys and MakerBot share a vision about the potential for 3D printing to transform design and manufacturing. Our goal now is to maximise the benefits this merger creates for our shareholders, our customers and our employees."
