• by Tony Silber , December 8, 2021

Xometry, a publicly traded online marketplace for on-demand buying and selling in the manufacturing space, announced on Tuesday the acquisition of Thomas, a one-time directory publisher with a similar product sourcing and supplier selection business model.

The transaction is valued at $300 million and expected to close this week.

Xometry’s rapidly growing digital marketplace provides real-time access to global manufacturing capacity and demand, helping accelerate the digitization of the manufacturing industry.

By acquiring Thomas, Xometry expects to expand its buyer and seller base, and enhance its global digital marketplace for manufacturers. Xometry also seeks to leverage Thomas’ marketing and data services to deliver a broad suite of end-to-end services for sellers.

Thomas has been a leader in recent years in developing marketing solutions for sellers, building out lead-generation and purchase-intent capabilities around more traditional digital advertising products.

“Xometry and Thomas share a common mission of championing the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, one of the largest sectors of the global economy,” Randy Altschuler, CEO of Xometry, said. “Thomas brings strong brand equity, trusted and extensive relationships, proprietary data and advanced full-funnel marketing services — assets that perfectly complement our digital marketplace.”

Working with Thomas, Xometry intends to introduce new services, cross-sell to our combined user base and expand its suite of products, particularly in fintech and digital marketing.

“Thomas has a long and proud history of bringing active buyers and sellers together on our Thomasnet.com platform and providing the data and marketing services that inform decision-making,” said Thomas CEO Tony Uphoff. “In joining forces with Xometry, we’re uniting our products with the power of the Xometry marketplace so we can do even more for industry together.”

"The complementary fit is remarkable, said Uphoff. "We monetize the supplier and they monetize the buyer. There is demand gen, advertising, marketing — and now adding into that you have an online on-demand manufacturing marketplace. It is this end-to-end suite of products."

Uphoff said he will stay involved for the next few months, then wind down his full-time role.

Xometry connects enterprise buyers across industries such as aerospace, consumer products, defense, industrial, automotive, medical, energy, robotics, green-tech and more with sellers of custom-manufactured parts worldwide.

As of the end of the third quarter, Xometry had 26,187 active buyers, including nearly 30% of the Fortune 500. It leverages AI and machine-learning technology to provide immediate pricing, delivery lead times and quality assurance in a fragmented environment.

For its part, Thomas, formerly known as Thomas Publishing, is famous in industrial markets for publishing the Thomas Register for more than 110 years. Its thick green hard-bound directories served the same purpose the online marketplaces do today. In its heyday, the Thomas Registerwas a 34-volume, three-section buying guide.

Under the terms of the deal, Xometry is acquiring Thomas on a cash-free, debt-free basis for $300 million — about $198.5 million in cash and $101.5 million in Xometry’s Class A common stock.