Super Bowl Cleats Signal 3-D Printer Takeovers: Real M&A

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Stratasys Ltd. offers Hewlett-Packard Co. and Seiko Epson Corp. the chance to move beyond paper-and-ink printers by acquiring a leader in the technology that’s used to replicate nuts, bolts and even football cleats.

Three-dimensional printers layer materials to create objects, technology that Nike Inc. used to help develop footwear for National Football League players to don at this weekend’s Super Bowl. Hewlett-PackardBloomberg Terminal and Seiko Epson have shown interest in expanding into the fast-growing market, which may double by 2017. Rather than build their own 3-D printers, the companies would have a better shot of capturing that growth by buying Stratasys, BB&T Corp. said.