3D Systems Further Consolidates With Simbionix Sale

In a further attempt to move to focus only on 3D printing, 3D Systems has announced that they have sold their medical simulation business, Simbionix. The $305 million USD sale of the simulation business was to Surgical Science Sweden AB, a leading supplier of virtual reality simulators for medical training. The transaction completes the company’s divestment initiative that they started earlier this year, moving to prioritze growth and margin expansion as one of the leading companies in additive manufacturing (AM).

This most recent sale follows last month when 3D Systems chose as well to sell their on-demand manufacturing service for $82 million USD. Over the past year, 3D Systems has made it clear to investors and clients that it will be focusing more on additive manufacturing, working on consolidating around that core for the business. Beyond sales of non-AM assets like the medical simulation and on-demand businesses, the company also made investments earlier this year by acquiring Allevi, Inc and Additive Works to add to its bioprinting and software portfolios. Additionally, they plan to expand their facilities in both Rock Hill, South Carolina and littleton, Colorado to meet rising customer demand for AM technologies.

3D Systems is one of the original AM companies. This move shows their desire to concentrate on their AM assets (photo credits: 3D Systems)

Commenting on the changes to 3D System’s larger business infrastructure, Dr. Jeffrey Graves, the Presdident and CEO of the company stated, “Over the last several months, 3D Systems has divested a number of assets that are not core to our industry-leading additive manufacturing solutions business.” He then added, “The final of these is our Simbionix business, under the leadership of Ran Bronstein, which has secured a strong position in the medical simulation, training and robotic surgery market. As the Simbionix team now joins forces with Surgical Science, I believe their future will be even brighter, with increased scale and an ability to leverage the core strengths of both businesses in a growing medical simulation market.”