Baker McKenzie Advises DBJ and Epson on Investment in US Startup 3DEO

Baker McKenzie advised the Development Bank of Japan Inc. (“DBJ”) and Seiko Epson Corporation (“Epson”) on their joint investment in 3DEO, Inc. (“3DEO”), a US startup that specializes in metal additive manufacturing with a focus on precision metal 3D printed components.

In recent years, metal 3D printing and related product innovations have been sweeping the aerospace, medical, healthcare and semiconductor fields, among others. These technologies have also found a home in the automotive and industrial equipment sectors due to their potential to reduce development costs and time and the weight of manufactured products, in addition to their other advantages.

Despite these trends, manufacturers in Japan have continued to believe strongly in conventional metalworking based on precision casting. These entrenched attitudes and high barriers to entry for 3D production printing have caused Japan’s metal supply chain to lag behind its competitors.

Against this backdrop, DBJ and Epson have decided to support 3DEO’s business expansion efforts in North America and Japan with capital to optimize the supply chain from a quality and cost perspective, contribute to innovation and strengthen the competitiveness of the Japanese manufacturing industry.

In connection with this investment, DBJ and Epson completed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) procedures on December 14, 2023.

The transaction was led by Yutaka Kimura, a Partner in the Corporate/M&A Group at Baker McKenzie’s Tokyo office and Rod Hunter, a Partner in Baker McKenzie’s Washington, DC office. They were supported by associates Callie Lefever and Alexandra Kumar and counsel Maxim Tsotsorin from Baker McKenzie’s Palo Alto office.