Align Technology to acquire dental CAD/CAM software leader exocad

Align Technology has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held exocad Global Holdings GmbH (exocad) for approximately EUR376 million in cash. exocad is a global leader in the dental CAD/CAM software market and offers fully integrated workflows to dental labs and dental practices via a broad customer base of partners and resellers in over 150 countries.

The acquisition of exocad strengthens the Align digital platform that delivers innovative tools and features for diagnostic, restorative, implant and orthodontic workflows. The acquisition brings exocad's expertise in restorative dentistry, implantology, guided surgery and smile design to the Align technology portfolio, extending Align's Invisalign and iTero digital solutions and paving the way for new, seamless cross-discipline dentistry in lab and at chairside. exocad also broadens Align's platform reach in digital dentistry with close to 200 partners and more than 35,000 licenses installed worldwide.

"Dentistry today is evolving digitally, with technology advances and consumer awareness driving new opportunities in ortho-restorative and comprehensive treatment. Align is in a unique position to lead the digital transformation of dentistry by reimagining comprehensive treatment planning and by reinventing the way orthodontists and GPs practice with our digital platform for transforming smiles," said Joe Hogan, Align Technology president and CEO. "exocad allows us to broaden and deepen Align's digital platform by addressing restorative needs in our end-to-end digital platform that facilitate ortho-restorative and comprehensive dentistry and accelerates adoption of Invisalign treatment among the more than 300 million potential patients worldwide."

This acquisition is a natural next step in the collaboration between Align and exocad that started in 2017 with the seamless integration of Align's iTero intraoral scanners and exocad Chairside CAD software. The collaboration later expanded to a fully-validated workflow that enabled in-house milling of dental restoration on any compatible milling machine and most recently, at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting 2020, we announced the unique exocad Connector.

"I am excited by the enormous growth opportunity for exocad and its customers that comes with being a part of Align Technology," said Tillmann Steinbrecher, CEO and co-founder of exocad. "Together, we will further strengthen exocad's position as a key technology provider for the dental CAD/CAM industry and drive continuous innovation with the open and integrated approach that is the foundation of our company."

exocad will continue to operate as it exists today, enabling it to support a broad ecosystem of partners and end-users and continue to deliver hardware-independent software solutions. exocad co-founders Tillmann Steinbrecher and Maik Gerth, along with their team, are expected to remain after the transaction closes and report into John Morici, Align Technology, senior vice president and CFO.

"The acquisition of exocad adds a talented and passionate team as well as a highly innovative, industry-leading product suite to our portfolio, providing an excellent complement to our current workflow solutions," Mr Morici said. "We will continue to invest in and build on exocad's leadership in the dental CAD/CAM market and look to them to make significant contributions to Align's overall strategy."

Under the terms of the agreement, Align will pay approximately EUR376 million in cash to acquire exocad, which is majority owned by Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP.) The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2020.