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Shapeways的6.05亿美元SPAC交易:所有炒作还是收入增长的秘诀?

Back in April 2021, 3D printing service providerShapewaysannounced its intention to go public via a merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)Galileo Acquisition Corp(GLEO).

当时,公司的首席执行官格雷格·克雷斯(Greg Kressequity value of $605 millionand a $195 million warchest, as “a significant milestone,” that effectively generates the funding it needs “to empower digital manufacturing at scale.”

The proposed IPO is the latest in a最近的SPAC合并由3 d印刷公司宣布,格兰d total of these deals over the $13 billion mark, but Shapeways’ financials, or rather absence of, also pose serious questions about its past performance and long-term profitability. Between FY 2019 and FY 2020, the company’s revenue declined 5%, yet it’s now projecting rapid annual growth of 95% between FY 2021 and FY 2022.

Investors have also backed Shapeways with $100 million since 2007, but there’s little on the firm’s balance sheet to specifically show where the funding has been invested, whether in property or equipment.

Shapeways reported net losses of $7 million in FY 2019 and $3 million during FY 2020, as well as adjusted EBITDAs of -$6.1 million and -$2.4 million, thus it’s worth questioning whether Galileo has bought into 3D printing’s renewed hype, or if Shapeways is genuinely positioned to meet its pre-tax earnings target of $107 million by 2025.

To find out more about the firm’s expansion plans, 3D Printing Industry reached out to a Shapeways spokesperson, who said that the funding raised via its upcoming SPAC merger will allow it to “accelerate its additive manufacturing capabilities,” and “fuel its drive towards sustained double-digit growth.”

“We feel it is not about where you start, it’s about where you finish,” said the spokesperson. “Successful businesses know they are running a marathon, not a sprint, and we have lots ahead of us. We like where Shapeways is now, poised for tremendous growth and innovation.”

Shapeways 3D printing factory. Photo via Shapeways.
Shapeways is set to go public by merging with Galileo Acquisition later this year. Photo via Shapeways.

朝着6.05亿美元的IPO旅行

Founded as a spin-off ofPhillips2007年,Shapeways最初纳入了两个截然不同的业务:设计师的在线市场和一套按需制造服务。最终,该公司对前者的野心陷入了平坦,导致它改变了方向任命首席执行官格雷格·克雷斯(Greg Kress),他们最初承诺使公司的平台成为“设计,制造和出售”的地方。

Since then, Shapeways has focused on expanding its service offering,添加碳的DLS技术在2019年2月到之前的投资组合integrating ZVerse’s softwareto optimize the performance of its online platform. By iteratively scaling its production capabilities, the firm has managed to broaden its potential audience, and recently reached a20 million printed part milestone

However, the firm now operates in an increasingly crowded market, with the likes ofXometryand the recently-rebranded集线器,,,,starting to carve out a niche for more professional clientele, while Hubs ownerProtolabs正在大力投资其CNC加工能力,这些公司中的每一家都在有效地争夺与Shapeways相同的客户。

结果,该公司进行SPAC合并的决定可以看作是筹集与市场竞争对手竞争所需的资金的有效举措,但对于伽利略来说,这笔交易似乎很少。尽管Shapeways始终私下交易,并且没有发布其全部财务,但它确实在上个月发布了一些顶级数据。但是,Shapeways不愿提供3D印刷行业要求的特定财务信息。

Shapeways’ Projections ($) FY 2019 2020财年 2021财年 2022财年 2023财年 2024财年
Revenue 33.5m 3180万 44m 86m 150m 250m
YoY Growth (%) - -5 +38 +95 +74 +67

Shapeways’ opaque financials

在任命首席执行官后,克雷斯设法筹集3000万美元对于公司的投资Lux Capital自2007年以来,其总资金超过了1亿美元。但是,当Shapeways在2021年4月发布其资产负债表时,他们透露,截至2020年12月31日,它拥有948,000美元的财产和设备,提出了关于这笔1亿美元投资的问题。

Shapeways并未确切地披露资本的花费,但有可能将其投资于自那以后贬值的资产上,或者资金只是支付了其运营费用。无论哪种方式,在不知道最初耗资1亿美元的部署的地方,几乎没有证据表明,即将通过其即将进行的合并将筹集的1.95亿美元将被对其进行不同的投资,或将其投资于未来资产负债表上出现的资产。

鉴于该公司的收入从2019财年的3,350万美元下降到2020财年的3180万美元,因此2022财年的8600万美元指导似乎也具有乐观的一面。尽管Shapeways表示,即将进行的投资将使其能够“解锁新行业”并“利用有利的市场逆风”,但该公司的领导能力是否会在正确的领域投资以实现这一目标还有待观察。

Shapeways’ current management has overseen the spend of at least $30 million of investors’ cash, and having failed to generate growth, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to buck this trend and guide Galileo, whose backers appear inexperienced in the 3D printing industry. For its part, the company has now stated that its leadership team “brings significant entrepreneurial and industry expertise to propel the company forward.”

Responding to this point 3D Printing Industry were told, “CEO Greg Kress is an innovative and results-driven leader who brings strong supply chain and commercial operations expertise from his role as a member of GE’s corporate leadership. Jennifer Walsh, CFO and COO, is a veteran finance executive and Miko Levy, CRO, has a proven track record of driving aggressive business growth.”

使用Shapeways的现有在线平台打印的一系列组件。图像通过Shapeways。
Shapeways issued forward-looking financial guidance during a presentation in April 2021. Image via Shapeways.

3D printing’s SPAC IPO trend

一旦完成在2021年H2, Shapeways”合并see Galileo become the seventh SPAC to enter the industry in the last year, but there’s no guarantee that the resulting enterprise will yield immediate profitability or that its stock will capture the interest of investors, thus there’s a risk that it has bought into a trend rather than the firm’s future growth potential.

Desktop Metalseemingly started the industry’s SPAC IPO boom last year, when itmerged with Trine Acquisitionand went public in December 2021, raising $580 million in the process. However, the company’s shares didn’t immediately take-off upon their listing on December 10 2020, since falling in value by a third, thus proving that generating investor interest in 3D printing stocks remains a challenge to industry IPOs.

别处,VELO3D,,,,火箭实验室,,,,Markforged,,,,明亮的机器andRedwirehave all announced their intentions to go public via SPAC mergers later this year. While the short-term performance of shares is by no means a firm indicator the long term prospects of a company, the performance to date of Desktop Metal stock does at least raise questions over whether 3D printing’s SPAC IPO trend will be long lasting, or a flash in the pan followed by collapse in interest, akin to that seen in 2014.

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Featured image shows some of the decor inside Shapeways’ 3D printing factory in Eindhoven. Photo via Shapeways.