Markforged Inc., a leading provider of metal and carbon fibre 3D printers, has agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check company ‘One’ started by Eventbrite Inc., co-founder Kevin Hartz. According to the statements released by both the companies, this deal values the combined equity at $2.1 billion.
To support the transaction, the Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or simply SPAC, will raise $210 million from investors including Baron Capital Group, BlackRock Inc., Miller Value Partners, Wasatch Global Investors and Wellington Management. Microsoft Corp.’s Venture Fund and Porsche Automobil Holding SE will also participate in the private investment in public equity, or PIPE.
As per Kevin Hartz, his Special Purpose Acquisition Company looked at 200 companies before choosing Markforged.
Shai Terem, Markforged’s chief executive officer, said, “The Company’s main products are metal and carbon fibre 3D printers and related devices that cost from $5,000 to $180,000. Markforged’s also sells industrial-grade materials and software that let customers print 3D parts out of metal or composite materials, which are stronger than aluminium and can replace steel.”
Terem added, “We’re on a journey in manufacturing and have 10,000 customers and we think we can have 100,000 in the next few years.”
This deal comes after Markforged’s rival, Desktop Metal, Inc., announced a similar merger deal with Trine Acquisition Corp. worth $2.5 Billion in August 2020, and it officially went public in December 2020.
About Markforged: Founded in 2013 and based in Massachusetts, Markforged has about 250 employees globally, with $137 million in both strategic and venture capital. Markforged was recently recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, and listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500. Markforged is a privately-held additive manufacturing company that designs, develops, and manufactures The Digital Forge — an industrial platform of 3D printers, software and materials that enables manufacturers to print parts at the point-of-need.
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