Nano Dimension Evaluates Desktop Steel Publish-Takeover – 3DPrint.com

April 23, 2025

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A Delaware court docket lately pressured Nano Dimension (Nasdaq: NNDM) to finalize its long-delayed acquisition of Desktop Steel. Now that the deal is formally closed, Nano is evaluating Desktop Steel’s subsequent steps.

On April 21, 2025, Nano introduced that Desktop Steel has began a proper strategic overview to discover choices for managing its heavy debt and money issues. The corporate, as soon as a hyped pioneer in metallic 3D printing, is now contemplating every thing from restructuring to potential asset gross sales, with specialists even suggesting chapter as a doable end result.

This announcement follows a string of troubling updates about Desktop Steel’s monetary well being. On the finish of Q3 2024, the corporate had solely $30 million in money however carried $113 million in long-term debt. That imbalance raised alarm bells all through the trade.

“We wouldn’t be shocked if chapter is a possible end result for Desktop Steel,” says Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Troy Jensen. “We consider Desktop Steel was trending towards insolvency, they usually wanted entry to Nano’s stability sheet to outlive. It appears to be like like an possibility for Nano is to allow them to fail as a subsidiary and dump the belongings in chapter court docket.”

What’s extra, in response to Jensen, the legislation agency that represented Desktop Steel in its merger dispute with Nano is requesting the courts to safe $34 million in Desktop Steel’s belongings to cowl almost $30 million in unpaid authorized charges, including much more stress from the authorized group.

Desktop Steel headquarters in Burlington, MA. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.

What Occurred Final Month

Simply weeks in the past, the Delaware Chancery Court docket dominated that Nano needed to full its acquisition of Desktop Steel, stating that Nano had “materially breached” the merger settlement by “failing to make use of cheap finest efforts to acquire regulatory approval.” The choice concluded a months-long authorized dispute over Nano’s hesitation to finalize the deal.

Regardless of the court-mandated acquisition, Nano hasn’t invested closely in stabilizing the corporate. As an alternative, it has taken a extra cautious path by saying a strategic overview. As a part of this course of, Desktop Steel appointed skilled restructuring knowledgeable Robert Warshauer to its board and introduced in funding banker Piper Sandler and FTI Consulting, a worldwide monetary advisory agency specializing in company turnaround methods, as monetary advisers.

The transfer raises questions on what lies forward for Desktop Steel and whether or not it results in restructuring, divestments, or operational modifications.

Binder jet metallic components made by Desktop Steel. Picture courtesy of Desktop Steel.

Stratasys Nonetheless within the Combine

In the meantime, the information has fueled hypothesis about what may occur to Desktop Steel’s belongings in a hypothetical state of affairs the place the corporate is damaged up or offered off. Jensen has urged that Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS), now with extra cash readily available and a renewed board, may very well be a possible purchaser for a few of Desktop Steel’s enterprise items, like dental, sand, or supplies.

Stratasys is now in a a lot stronger monetary place than when it tried to merge with Desktop Steel in 2023. Again then, Stratasys introduced plans to merge with Desktop Steel in a $1.8 billion all-stock deal. Whereas the deal was structured as a merger, Stratasys shareholders had been anticipated to manage 59% of the mixed firm, with Desktop Steel shareholders holding the remaining 41%. Nonetheless, the proposal was finally rejected by Stratasys shareholders. On the time, Desktop Steel had a market cap of about $700 million; as of March 5, 2025, it had dropped to simply $70 million. So any new deal would probably come at a critical cut price for Stratasys.

“Stratasys now has roughly $264 million in money on their stability sheet, an extra $120 million in investments and is producing optimistic money flows,” stated Jensen. “We consider Stratasys desires all or components of Desktop Steel and has probably had discussions with Nano.”

Serving to gas that chance is Fortissimo Capital, a personal fairness agency that lately invested $120 million into Stratasys and now holds 18.2% of the corporate. Their settlement permits them to extend their stake to as a lot as 35%. And one technique to get there quick is to purchase Nano’s 13.8% stake, says Jensen.

The analyst envisions this as a sensible state of affairs: “It wouldn’t shock me if Fortissimo tries to accumulate Nano’s 9.7 million Stratasys shares.”

That transfer would consolidate Fortissimo’s affect over Stratasys and provides them much more leverage in any Desktop Steel choices.

3D printed board. Picture courtesy of Nano Dimension.

The strategic overview of Desktop Steel is underway, however Nano has not specified a timeline or potential outcomes. For Nano, the transfer additionally comes throughout management modifications. The corporate lately appointed Ofir Baharav as the brand new CEO.

Ofir Baharav. Picture courtesy of Nano Dimension.

The manager took on the function in April 2025 and had beforehand served as Chairman of the Board and has intensive expertise in capital tools and additive manufacturing, together with management positions at Maxify and Stratasys.

This transition occurs when the AM trade remains to be battling weak system demand and macroeconomic stress. Jensen famous that Q1 demand was “nonetheless considerably difficult,” with cautious outlooks for the remainder of 2025 resulting from commerce points and recession fears. However stays optimistic about choose alternatives within the sector.

“We consider the trade will stay challenged till progress returns,” he wrote, “however Stratasys is well-positioned to learn from consolidation.”

As for Nano, its subsequent steps will rely upon how shortly and successfully it may possibly resolve the scenario with Desktop Steel and transfer ahead.