Stratasys/Forward AM
Stratasys has acquired the key assets and operations of Forward AM Technologies GmbH.
Forward AM Technologies, which spun out of BASF last summer and filed for insolvency towards the end of 2024, confirmed it was under new ownership in an email to partners and stakeholders.
The company says it will continue to operate under the Forward AM brand, though the deal has seen the formal constitution of a standalone company within Stratasys that will be know as Mass Additive Manufacturing GmbH.
In its correspondence to clients and partners, Forward AM described the last six months as a 'challenging period' for the company, but suggested it is now 'back - and stronger than ever' with the support of Stratasys.
Earlier this year, Forward AM CEO Martin Back told TCT that regulatory hurdles slowed down the spin out of the company from BASF and contributed to the company's difficult H2 in 2024. Approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and France’s FDI authority, for example, were initially expected within 45 days of the announcement of Forward AM's buy-out on July 3. But the company didn't receive complete approvals until early November.
This, Back said, had disrupted plans to procure more investment and left Forward AM with little choice but to file for insolvency while the company's leadership figured out a way forward. While that process was ongoing, Forward AM shut down its US operations and, TCT understands, the ownership of the Sculpteo service offering returned to BASF. Sculpteo has not yet responded to TCT's request for more information regarding this aspect of Forward AM's carve out.
The strategic review that Forward AM has undertaken in recent months has not played out in public, but appears to have ended with Stratasys eyeing an opportunity to bolster its polymer materials offering. According to Forward AM, the 'global strength and support of Stratasys' will translate to 'more innovation, more momentum, and more value for its partners.' Its materials will remain open to 'all platforms and partners', though the 'greater resources' of Stratasys will allow the company to 'better serve' customer needs.
There is yet to be any confirmation about who will lead the Forward AM Technologies business now the company is part of Stratasys, and financial terms of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.
