On Wednesday, the 3D printing industry saw one of its largest financial deals to date: Stratasys, a large, publicly-traded 3D printing and rapid prototyping company, acquired the well-known MakerBot for $403 million in stock “with an additional $201 million in performance-based earn-outs.”

Stratasys’ stock price is up slightly (around three percent) on the news in after-hours trading.

The Brooklyn-based MakerBot is only four years old as a company, and it has been targeting the higher-end “prosumer” market. The company sells its Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer for $2,200. It also has a 3D scanner on the way. Stratasys is a well-established company that has been around since 1989 and its roots are in industrial printing and prototyping.

MakerBot has been a darling of the tech industry. CEO Bre Pettis made the cover of Wired magazine in September 2012 and received $10 million in venture capital from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ investment group, Facebook executive Sam Lessin, and others. Based on its own unaudited financial reporting, MakerBot says it took in $11.5 million in total revenue for the first quarter of 2013 compared to $15.7 million for all of 2012.

Stratasys has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion. With today's news, the company will also acquire MakerBot’s Thingiverse.com, which it describes as “the largest collection of downloadable digital designs for making physical objects, and which is empowered by a growing community of makers and creators.”

"MakerBot's 3D printers are rapidly being adopted by CAD-trained designers and engineers," said David Reis, Stratasys CEO, in a statement. "Bre Pettis and his team at MakerBot have built the strongest brand in the desktop 3D printer category by delivering an exceptional user experience. MakerBot has impressive products, and we believe that the company's strategy of making 3D printing accessible and affordable will continue to drive adoption. I am looking forward to working with Bre.”