Stratasys has announced the signing of a “final” acquisition agreement for the Additive Manufacturing Materials division of one of the world’s largest chemical companies, Covestro AG. The acquisition will include facilities and R&D activities, global development and sales teams in Europe, the US and China, as well as a portfolio of approximately 60 3D printing materials and an extensive intellectual property portfolio with hundreds of patents and patents pending. The purchase price is approximately EUR 43 million.
Covestro is a German concern that produces a variety of raw materials based on polyurethane and polycarbonate. The company’s products include isocyanates and polyols for cellular foams, thermoplastic polyurethane and polycarbonate granules, as well as polyurethane-based additives used in adhesives. Covestro is a Bayer spin-off created in the fall of 2015 – previously called Bayer MaterialScience and served as the materials engineering department.
Covestro is a key component of Stratasys’s outdoor materials ecosystem, and the acquisition of its 3D printing division will benefit customers using the company’s 3D printers, including the Origin P3, Neo and H350 powder 3D printers. Stratasys is already a distributor of Covestro’s Somos resins, which are used on Neo and Origin One.
The acquisition will close in the first quarter of 2023 and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The majority of the acquired entity’s employees will continue to work in Geleen, the Netherlands, and Elgin, Illinois, in the US.
Source: Stratasys press materials