Arrayed Additive to take over 95% of Velo3D

Arrayed Additive (via its subsidiary Arrayed Notes Acquisition Corp), a company holding $22.4 million (or 81.7% in principal amount) in outstanding senior secured notes of struggling metal PBF 3D printer manufacturer Velo3D, will cancel this debt in exchange for an issuance of 185,151,333 newly issued shares of Velo3D’s common stock. This transaction will make Arrayed Notes Acquisition Corp the owner of 95% of Velo3D’s issued and outstanding common stock. Shares of Velo3D’s issued and outstanding common stock not held by the Holder will remain publicly traded on OTCQX.

Arun Jeldi, CEO of Arrayed Additive, Inc., will be appointed as CEO of Velo3D and a member of Velo3D’s Board of Directors. “Velo3D’s industry-leading technology and capabilities allow Arrayed Additive to greatly expand our services and product offering to our customers. Velo3D’s focus on defense, space/aerospace, and technology end-markets is complementary to Arrayed Additive’s customer base. Our leading technology in lightweight precision manufacturing using magnesium and aluminum alloy further expands Velo3D’s capabilities. I am thrilled to lead Velo3D into a new chapter of growth,” said Arun Jeldi, Arrayed Additive CEO.

In connection with the exchange transaction, Mr. Carl Bass, Ms. Ellen Smith, Ms. Gabrielle Toledano, Mr. Matthew Walters, Mr. Benyamin (Benny) Buller and Mr. Darryl Porter have resigned from Velo3D’s Board of Directors and, if applicable, all committees of the Board of Directors on which they serve. Velo3D’s Board of Directors will be reduced from 10 to 5 members upon the closing of the exchange transaction. Brad Kreger will remain with the Company as its Chief Operating Officer.

“I am excited to work with Arun and the Arrayed Additive team to reposition the Company for future success,” said Brad Kreger, the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of Velo3D. “With the majority of our senior secured notes canceled, we are now in a stronger financial position, enabling us to focus our efforts on the future of Velo3D and delivering unparalleled large-format metal 3D printing capabilities to our global customer base.”

You are probably not alone if you are wondering what Arrayed Additive is. The company is very new (it was founded in 2023) and has not reported any activity in the additive manufacturing industry to date. Upon doing some basic research, it emerges that it specializes in “Additive Manufacturing with Magnesium and Aluminum”, which are known to be two of the most challenging materials to 3D print, especially via powder bed fusion processes, due to their high reactivity. In particular, Arrayed Additive specializes (or intends to specialize) in “utilizing magnesium and aluminum alloys to create high-performance components with complex geometries.” The company says its “state-of-the-art technology ensures precision and efficiency,” making it a partner of choice in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

The company also says it has used both electron beam and laser beam-based powder bed fusion processes. While PBF of aluminum is challenging, its use is already fairly widespread and it is among the materials that Velo3D had already qualified (including F357). Magnesium, on the other hand, has never been used commercially in PBF in pure form, while it’s used as an alloying element (mainly for aluminum) in PBF materials or as a material for 3D printed sand cast parts. Research is underway as the material holds significant market potential due to its many uses. Other metal AM companies are also currently working on magnesium PBF.

Also relevant in this sense, Mr. Jeldi, now CEO of both Arrayed Additive and Velo3D, is also the President and Founder of Lite Magnesium Products, a company that was incorporated in 2020 to provide end-to-end solutions in magnesium-based products/components from designing to production phases, by adopting innovative and recent technologies available in the industry. It seems logical to deduce that he will leverage synergies with Velo3D to further develop magnesium 3D printing capabilities.

Beyond Arrayed’s own expertise, the result of this transaction is a significant reduction in the outstanding senior secured notes which greatly alleviates Velo3D’s overall debt obligations and allows it to focus on its operations, continuing to deliver its solutions to its customers.