Hartland-based
Fathom Digital Manufacturing Corp. could become a privately-owned company once again after receiving a non-binding acquisition proposal from Chicago-based
CORE Industrial Partners, the same private equity firm that owned Fathom before the company went public in 2021.
On Monday, Fathom announced it had received a proposal from CORE in which the firm would acquire all outstanding shares of Fathom’s Class A and Class B common stock for $4.50 cash per share.
As of Monday morning, shares of Fathom’s stock were listed at $4.30. CORE already owns 63% of Fathom’s shares.
Fathom’s board of directors has formed a special committee to consider the proposal brought forward by CORE.
"The company understands that the special committee is reviewing the proposal from the CORE Funds, has not made any decisions with respect to its response to the proposal and has not set a definitive timetable for the completion of its evaluation of the proposal," Monday's announcement says. "There can be no assurance that any definitive agreement will result from the proposal submitted by the CORE Funds or that any transaction will be consummated."
The legacy of Fathom includes Hartland-based Midwest Composite Technologies, which was acquired by CORE Industrial Partners in 2018. Following the acquisition, MCT completed several acquisitions and mergers, including with Oakland-based Fathom in 2019.
In 2020, the two companies along with ICOMold and GPI Prototype united under the Fathom brand. CORE also remained the majority owner of the company. At the end of 2021, Fathom
became a publicly traded company.
This
past April, the company received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that the price per share of the company’s stock had fallen below $1 for 30 consecutive days. Fathom was given six months to boost its stock back above $1 in order to keep trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Since the end of 2022, Fathom has been continually dealing with a slowdown in customer spending and economic uncertainty. The company reported that its third quarter revenue decreased 21.8% from $40.2 million last year to $31.5 million this year.
The company
named a new CEO in October, who said he
planned to improve the company's profitability.
