3D Systems Launches Bid for Stratasys

No sooner has the buzz about the announced merger of Stratasys and Desktop Metal died down that the Israeli provider of polymer 3D printing solutions is finding itself once again at the center of attention. Yesterday, on June 1st, 2023, Stratasys announced via press release that it had received an unsolicited and non-binding takeover offer. And it’s from direct competitor 3D Systems. 3D Systems is offering to acquire Stratasys for $7.50 in cash and 1.2507 newly issued shares of 3D Systems common stock. 3D Systems’ current share price is $8.33, making the per-share value of the offer approximately $17.91 per share. There are currently 68.40 million Stratasys shares outstanding, bringing the deal to a total value of $1.225 billion.

The new offer will not, for the time being, affect the announced stock transaction merger with Desktop Metal, which is planned for the fourth quarter of 2023. The merger agreement remains in effect for the time being while financial and legal advisors at Stratasys carefully review the newly received offer from 3D Systems. To date, there is no word of a decision in this regard.

According to current information, the merger agreement between Stratasys and Desktop Metal remains unaffected by the new offer by 3D Systems and thus continues to exist (photo credits: Stratasys)

However, the offer itself is causing a stir in the industry, not the least because 3D Systems and Stratasys are two of the oldest 3D printing companies as well as two of the steady leaders in the sector. As recently as May 30, the Israeli company announced that it had rejected a partial takeover offer from Nano Dimension on the advice of its board members and financial advisors. The latest offer to acquire 38.8%- 40.8% of outstanding common stock for $18.00 per share in cash was deemed not lucrative by Stratasys and the $1.1 billion deal was unanimously rejected. Nano Dimension would have beneficially owned a total of 53%-55% of the outstanding Stratasys shares if the deal had closed favorably, as it already owns 14.2%. As noted above, 3D Systems’ current offer amounts to the acquisition of 1.2507 newly issued shares, at $17.92 per share which equates to a total of $125 million more at the current share price. Technically lower in terms of money per share, but actually worth more at the moment considering the current share prices.