German 3D printer maker SLM hires banks for potential IPO

From Reuters:

German 3D printer maker SLM Solutions has hired Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse to prepare a potential stock market listing, hoping to benefit from a sector boom, two sources familiar with the matter said.

3D printing technology, used to create solid objects from a digital model by laying down successive thin layers of material, has been around for more than 25 years but has only recently caught the imagination of investors and customers.

Shares of 3D printer makers like 3D Systems (DDD.N), Stratasys (SSYS.O), ExOne (XONE.O) or U.S.-listed German peer Voxeljet (VJET.N) have soared as the companies adapt to the consumer market a technology used by manufacturers for decades.

Luebeck, Germany-based SLM specializes in selective laser melting (SLM) machines, which use a laser beam to fuse fine metallic powders together and create a three-dimensional object....MORE