Monday, November 21, 2011

3D printing firm Z Corp. getting acquired as part of $137M deal

By Rodney H. Brown

Three-dimensional printing technology company Z Corp. of Burlington is being bought by 3D Systems Inc., in a deal in which Z Corp.’s parent is selling it and another subsidiary for $137 million combined.

According to a release from Z Corp., the other unit being sold by parent company Contex Group, a subsidiary of Ratos AB, is VIDAR Systems Corp. of Virginia. The sale is expected to close either at the end of this year or early in 2012, officials said in the release. 3D Systems is based in South Carolina.

In 1994, former CEO Marina Hatsopoulos founded Z Corp., which was bought by Contex Scanning Technology of Denmark in 2005 for an undisclosed amount. 

Regarding the benefit of the acquisition, Z Corp. CEO John Kawola said in the release, “We intend to make multi-color 3D printing accessible to far more designers, provide a more complete customer experience, rapidly advance new applications, and build the foundation for a new generation of Z Corporation innovations.”

Publicly traded 3D Systems provides 3D content-to-print solutions such as 3D printers, print materials and custom parts services for professionals and consumers, the company said in the release.

In September, Z Corp. announced it would be working with public TV’s “This Old House”, printing 3D models of the house being renovated this season in both the before and after versions.