BigRep SE has gone public, listing their stock on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The company had previously announced this step was to be taken, and now it is finalized, ten years after the company was founded.
BigRep used the “SPAC” approach to the listing. It is usually easier than the typical initial public offering approach, because it involves merging with a company that’s already on the stock exchange. In this case, that company was SMG Technology Acceleration SE. In fact, many online stock quoting engines still quote the stock as “SMG Technology Acceleration SE”, instead of “BigRep SE”. This is likely going to switch as the change percolates through various financial systems.
At the ceremony BigRep CEO Dr.‐Ing. Sven Thate, CEO said:
“Going public allows us to think bigger and pursue our buy-and-build strategy. We see great growth and synergy opportunities by expanding inorganically. The current market conditions will only increase consolidation pressure, giving us a chance to use our public listing to benefit our shareholders.”
This is true; a stock company has potentially greater access to funds that could allow for all manner of initiatives. The fresh cash could enable the company to perform more research and development for new equipment, for example. Or they could dramatically expand their sales and distribution networks. Or something else.
However, it also places them in a spot where they are more easily acquired, should some other party become interested and scoop up a sufficient quantity of their shares on the stock exchange.
Has the company’s valuation changed as a result of this move? Certainly, although we don’t precisely know the private internal valuations prior to the listing. However, during the first days of trading the value went up a bit, and then settled back to what is likely a normal level for the company. Bursts like that are typical when a new stock appears on the scene.
We will be adding BigRep to our weekly leaderboard of publicly-traded 3D print companies. They’ll join 16 other companies, and we’ll be able to track their valuation as it swings up and down in coming months.
Via BigRep
