Shapeways to go public following merger with Galileo
April 29, 2021
Global digital manufacturing platform provider Shapeways, Inc, New York City, USA, and Galileo Acquisition Corp., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, have entered into a definitive merger agreement in which Shapeways will be acquired by Galileo. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Shapeways Holdings, Inc. and is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol, SHPW. The combined company will be led by Greg Kress, Shapeways’ Chief Executive Officer.
Shapeways’ platform provides flexible, on-demand manufacturing powered by purpose-built proprietary software, enabling customers to rapidly transform digital designs into physical products. The company works to make industrial-grade Additive Manufacturing accessible by fully digitising the end-to-end AM process, and providing a broad range of solutions utilising eleven AM technologies, over ninety materials and finishes, and the ability to scale new builds. Throughout its lifespan, the company has reportedly delivered over twenty-one million parts to a million customers in over 160 countries.
Shapeways’ platform is positioned to scale across materials, markets and technologies. Expanding AM capabilities will enable acceleration of adoption in key markets; as an example of this opportunity, the company previously signed a strategic partnership with Desktop Metal, Burlington, Massachusetts, an important expansion beyond Shapeways’ previous focus on polymers.
In terms of markets, Asia represents an attractive opportunity for expansion beyond the United States and Europe given the sizeable annual manufacturing output from that region. Additionally, enabling manufacturers’ digital transformation provides Shapeways with a substantial market opportunity. In 2020, the company began licensing a commercialised SaaS version of its proprietary software to key partners, enabling them to deploy Shapeways’ manufacturing operating system within their own organisations.
“Our vision to enable anyone to rapidly transform digital designs to physical products is reaching a significant milestone today as we transition Shapeways into a public company,” stated Kress. “We have been successfully executing on our vision, and this capital will allow us to empower digital manufacturing at scale, accelerating Shapeways’ Additive Manufacturing capabilities while expanding the company’s material and technology offerings to more markets and industries.”
Alberto Recchi, Galileo’s co-founder and CFO, and Alberto Pontonio, fellow co-founder, added, “We are extremely excited to partner with Greg and Shapeways to help the company achieve its goals and capture the massive Additive Manufacturing 2.0 opportunity. Thanks to its tremendous team, flexible on-demand manufacturing capabilities, and proprietary purpose-built software, we believe Shapeways has incredible potential for future growth, which will only be accelerated by the extensive financial resources provided by this transaction.”
Transaction Overview
The business combination values Shapeways at a $410 million pro forma enterprise value, at the $10 per share PIPE price, which implies an equity value of $605 million (assuming minimal redemptions by Galileo shareholders). The transaction will provide over $195 million of net proceeds to the Company, including a $75 million fully committed common stock PIPE anchored by top-tier institutional investors, including Miller Value Partners and XN, alongside strategic partner Desktop Metal. Cash proceeds will primarily be used to accelerate Shapeways’ metal AM capabilities, expand the company’s material and technology offerings to extend market reach and grow customer share of wallet, as well as to provide additional working capital.
The boards of directors of both Galileo and Shapeways have unanimously approved the transaction. Completion of the proposed transaction is subject to the approval of Galileo shareholders and other customary closing conditions, including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals. As a result of the signing of a definitive agreement, Galileo will have until October 22, 2021 to consummate the Business Combination.
The transaction is expected to close in the summer of 2021.
