Markforged has reached a definitive agreement with Höganäs AB to acquire metal binder jetting firm Digital Metal.
As part of the transaction, Markforged is set to pay Höganäs $32 million in cash, 4.1 million shares of Markforged common stock, and an additional $1.5m in cash to settle certain intercompany balances, subject to certain adjustments. Per the agreement, the shares sold shall always be 4.1 million Buyer Shares, 'regardless of the price of the Buyer Shares on the New York Stock Exchange at closing.' The acquisition is expected to close in Q3 of 2022.
Through the acquisition of Digital Metal, Markforged has expanded its play in metal additive manufacturing to include binder jetting processes, in addition to its existing metal extrusion capability. The company is said to see binder jetting as a ‘highly scalable’ additive manufacturing technology for production grade parts, and believes Digital Metal’s offering provides ‘high-precision, best-in-class' part quality and reliability. Markforged also believes it can further enhance the capabilities of Digital Metal’ binder jet technology with integrated software capabilities, while accelerating the adoption through its global go-to market network.
Digital Metal was founded in 2003 by Höganäs AB, bringing to market a proprietary binder jet process that promises ‘high productivity, excellent surface finish and superior resolution.’ The technology has been used to produce hundreds of thousands of parts over the years, with much interest coming from consumer products, automotive and academia. Subject to customary conditions, the technology and the Digital Metal brand will soon come under the Markforged umbrella, which also includes the recently acquired Teton Simulation business.
“Markforged’s easy-to-use platform, best-in-class software capabilities and material expertise felt like a natural fit for the future of our technology,” commented Digital Metal CEO Christian Lönne. “With Markforged’s experience and go-to-market scale, we are confident that we will be able to grow our technology together and help more manufacturers produce the high-volume metal parts they need to drive highly productive and cost-efficient operations.”
“With the Digital Metal acquisition, Markforged is advancing our vision for distributed manufacturing by enabling the reliable, high volume production of precise metal parts at the point of need,” added Markforged President and CEO Shai Terem. “Infusing Digital Metal’s solution into The Digital Forge platform allows us to address new applications in the medical, automotive, luxury goods and other industries. The Digital Metal team has created a robust and scalable solution that complements our existing technologies. I look forward to welcoming their talented people to Markforged.”
“Höganäs has built a world-leading AM technology company within binder jetting and we are pleased to see that Digital Metal now will become a fully owned subsidiary of Markforged. This is a company well equipped to continue the development of Digital Metal and their quest to set a new benchmark in 3D metal printing,” offered Höganäs CEO Fredrik Emilson.
