Stratasys and Objet to Merge

Two of the largest additive manufacturing (AM) companies in the world have agreed to a merger. For an overview of what each company offers, check out the Stratasys and Objet company profiles. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which will see the combined stock hit an equity value of around $1.4 billion. The new company will retain the Stratasys name with dual headquarters in Eden Prairie, MN, and Rehovot, Israel.

"Today marks a significant milestone for Stratasys and an important development for the 3D printing and direct digital manufacturing industry," said Scott Crump, chief executive officer and chairman of Stratasys. "We are bringing together two of the most innovative and respected players in the field to create a global leader in a high-growth industry. Together we will have a broader and more comprehensive product and technology portfolio, and the resources, team and financial strength to achieve our goals. Building on the success of both companies, I am confident that we will capitalize on the many opportunities this combination creates for our shareholders, channel partners, customers, employees and other important stakeholders. We look forward to completing this transaction and to building significant long-term value for our shareholders."

Scott Crump, CEO, chairman and co-founder of Stratasys, will act as the chairman for the combined company. A four man executive committee, headed by Elchanan Jaglom, current chairman of Objet, will oversee integration and implement business strategy for the company. David Reis, CEO of Objet, will take the position of CEO for the combined company.

"We are excited to be joining forces with Stratasys," said David Reis, chief executive officer of Objet. "This transaction creates an organization that will provide a broad range of rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing applications to our customers, and the ability to bring exciting new products to the market. With an impressive technology portfolio, great talent, and an extensive sales and marketing channel, we will be well positioned to achieve efficient growth, expand our distribution reach and create value for all of our stakeholders. We look forward to working with Stratasys employees to take our combined company to the next level."

The merger will allow the new company to offer two different, yet complementary, 3D printer technologies. Stratasys brings its extensive development of fused deposition modeling (FDM) and Objet its PolyJet technology, which tends to offer better resolution than FDM. This should allow the company to continue to offer FDM machines for areas like parts prototyping and end-use industrial parts, while PolyJet can offer more ‘showroom’ quality prototypes with a broad range of possible materials.

Check out the Rapid Ready collection of Stratasys and Objet videos to get an idea of their products' functionality.

Sources: Stratasys, Objet