Shares of 3D printing company Nano Dimension (NNDM -0.41%) soared on Thursday after a substantial stock buyback plan was approved in court. As of 11:30 a.m. ET, Nano Dimension stock was up about 11%.
How did Nano Dimension get so much money?
Nano Dimension has long tried to acquire 3D printing peer Stratasys. However, Stratasys repeatedly rejected offers from Nano Dimension and even took measures to prevent a hostile takeover. Earlier this year, Nano Dimension finally gave up on the idea.
Here's the thing, though: Nano Dimension sold shares, building up its cash to buy Stratasys. As of the most recent quarter, the company had nearly $1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short- and long-term investments. For comparison, its market capitalization is only $660 million.
NNDM Cash and Short Term Investments (Quarterly) data by YCharts
In lieu of acquiring Stratasys with its pile of cash, Nano Dimension management moved on to other acquisitions. In its conference call to discuss financial results for the second quarter of 2023, management said it believed it would acquire or merge with between three and five other players.
Its other use of cash is for share repurchases. As an Israeli company, Nano Dimension needed Israeli approval. And on Oct. 19, the company announced that it was approved to repurchase $200 million in its American depository shares over the next year. That's a huge percentage of the outstanding shares, and it's why Nano Dimension stock jumped so much today.
Where does Nano Dimension go from here?
To put this move in context, Nano Dimension got its money from investors by selling more shares, so it's basically just giving back some of the money now since the acquisition didn't go through. It's important to remember that the company didn't fill its treasure chest from its business operations.
Nano Dimension has already made one move by acquiring Additive Flow Technology in August. But it will need to make many good moves if it's going to create shareholder value with the cash it has left. The growth-by-acquisition strategy can be hard to pull off, so investors will want to monitor its growth rates as it bolts on other companies. If its revenue growth slips in spite of its acquiring other players, that may signal that the strategy isn't working.
