3D Printing Business News: Prodways Group Announces Acquisition of AvenAo Industrie

In May of this year, 3D printer manufacturer Prodways Group went public on the Euronext exchange, and performed remarkably well right away, with an offering price of €4.80 per share. Today, Prodways Group announced that it has made the first significant acquisition since the initial public offering. The company has acquired AvenAo Industrie, a French company that provides solutions in design, production management and manufacturing, including 3D printing and 3D scanning.

The AvenAo Group, of which AvenAo Industrie is a part, has the distinction of being one of the largest distributors of Dassault Systèmes’ SOLIDWORKS software, as well as one of the largest distributors for 3D Systems in Europe. AvenAo Industrie, which had 75 employees in 2016, offers expertise in the integration of SOLIDWORKS design and 3D development applications, and can provide consulting in 3D design and integration of 3D printing solutions. With this acquisition, Prodways will be able to offer a comprehensive range of products and services covering the full production process, from design to manufacturing.

“In combination with our industrial 3D printing technologies, the acquisition of AvenAo Industrie represents a powerful accelerator for our commercial development and an extension of what we can offer our customers,” said Raphaël Gorgé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prodways Group. “Applying Dassault Systèmes technologies to Prodways Group’s major business lines, as well as the expertise we have acquired in 3D integration and design, is going to increase our ability to help our customers make their digital transformation, whether in aeronautics, healthcare or other industrial sectors.”

The acquisition of AvenAo Industrie isn’t the only instance of Prodways Group and Dassault Systèmes working together. Prodways’ subsidiary INITIAL was one of the first companies to integrate Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace, a service that brings together designers and 3D printing service providers. INITIAL 3D printed the first customer parts using the service in its testing phase.

“We have decided to integrate INITIAL, subsidiary of Prodways Group, as one of the first international partners of our new Marketplace. Its 25 years of experience in product development, additive manufacturing and production is a great innovation accelerator for our clients,” said Bernard Charlès, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Dassault Systèmes.

Prodways Group will now be offering its customers the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud platform, boosting its “Factory of the Future” offering and facilitating a transition to a fully digital factory.

“The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a great tool to facilitate the adoption of new production technologies and offer proven industrial solutions to companies of all sizes,” continued Charlès. “Prodways Group is part of the more dynamic players in the field of the ‘Industry of the future’. Our collaboration will deliver our clients premium and affordable applications, contents and services thanks to the Cloud.”

AvenAo Industrie, meanwhile, will benefit from the financial and human resources that Prodways Group can offer. Over the next year and a half, the company expects complementarity with other Prodways Group activities to generate significant synergies. In addition, AvenAo Industrie founder Sébastien Vercruysse will join the management of Prodways Group.

“The foundation and development of the AvenAo group has been a wonderful entrepreneurial adventure,” said Vercruysse. “Participating in the development of an international leader of the Industry 4.0 revolution is even more exciting and I am proud to commit to this project over the long term. Clients, collaborators and partners will continue to rely on our support.”

The acquisition should be a positive for both companies in the short and long run. Prodways Group is in negotiations to acquire 100% of AvenAo Industrie’s share capital; the base portion of the transaction will be 50% in shares and 50% in cash, with an earn-out in cash accounting for about 20% of the total deal to be possibly paid out in 2019. AvenAo Industrie was profitable in 2016, and is expected to contribute at least €10 million to Prodways Group’s revenue in 2018. Discuss in the Prodways forum at 3DPB.com.