Desktop 3D printing leaders MakerBot and Ultimaker have agreed a business combination that will see them merge, with $62.4 million in additional funding announced for the new entity.
The two companies believe the move will ‘accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing by providing a comprehensive desktop 3D printing ecosystem of hardware, software and materials.’ The transaction is subject to consultation of appropriate employee representative bodies and regulatory approvals, with closing expected over the course of the second or third quarters of 2022.
Stratasys and NPM Capital are among the existing investors in the two companies to back the business combination, with the $62.4m investment set to ‘fuel innovation and expansion into new markets.’ MakerBot CEO Nadav Goshen and Ultimaker CEO Jürgen von Hollen will act as co-CEOs, with Goshen managing operations and R&D and von Hollen managing commercial functions.
The new company will maintain headquarters in both the Netherlands and New York, where both Ultimaker and MakerBot were founded. By launching its desktop 3D printing technology in 2009, MakerBot pioneered a movement that grew to facilitate the likes of Ultimaker to bring their own small-format FDM technologies onto the market. In 2013, MakerBot merged with Stratasys in a $604 million deal, whilst Ultimaker continued to have success as an independent entity. As the additive manufacturing continues to go through a phase of much M&A activity, MakerBot and Ultimaker have become the latest companies to participate, announcing a business combination that, they believe, will accelerate their aims and ambitions.
“This merger marks an important milestone for Ultimaker and MakerBot,” commented von Hollen. “Innovation and growth are both critical to brining desktop 3D printing from a specialty technology into mainstream business adoption. The new company will leverage and expand its combined global footprint with sales and operations in the Americas, EMEA and APAC.”
“Technological innovation is paramount in growing the availability of easy-to-use professional 3D printing solutions,” added Goshen. “By combining our teams and leveraging the additional funding, we can accelerate the development of advanced solutions to provide our customers with a broad portfolio of hardware and software solutions to serve a wide spectrum of customers and applications.”
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