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This week has been a big one for Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) mergers in the 3D printing industry, with two major deals reaching completion.
Additive manufacturing service provider Shapeways has announced the completion of its merger with blank check company Galileo Acquisition, while 3D printer OEM Velo3D debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) following its recent merger with JAWS Spitfire Acquisition Corporation.
Shapeways and Galileo Acquisition
Shapeways’ merger with Galileo Acquisition was unanimously approved by the latter’s board of directors and shareholders earlier this week on September 28th, with the combined company now being renamed Shapeways Holdings. The firm’s common stock and public warrants will begin trading on the NYSE under the tickers “SHPW” and “SHPW.WS”, respectively.
The deal will see Shapeways receive $103 million in gross proceeds, including a $75 million common stock PIPE. The PIPE includes investments from Miller Value, XN, and Desktop Metal, as well as existing Shapeways investors Lux Capital, Union Square Ventures, INKEF Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Shapeways has stated that the capital raised will be used to expedite the launch of its upcoming SaaS product, expand its manufacturing technology and materials offerings. and provide additional working capital for its operations. The firm’s existing management team will continue to run the business.
Greg Kress, CEO of Shapeways, said, “We are proud of what our team has achieved and excited to start our journey as a public company. Since we announced this transaction earlier this year, we have delivered strong year-over-year revenue growth and robust margins as we continue to scale and extend our footprint across key industries. The completion of this transaction will provide us with the platform to execute on our growth strategy and drive shareholder value.”
Velo3D and JAWS Spitfire Acquisition Corporation
September 29th saw the completion of Velo3D’s SPAC merger with JAWS Spitfire Acquisition Corporation. The combined business will continue under the Velo3D name and began trading on the NYSE a day later, on September 30th, under the ticker “VLD”.
As a result of the deal, the combined company received around $274 million in total net proceeds, including $345 million from JAWS Spitfire cash in trust and $155 million in a private placement of common stock at $10.00 per share. The net proceeds liabilities include $182 million from redemptions and $44 million in general transaction expenses.
The funds will be used to expand Velo3D’s operations into Europe, as well as support the launch of the new Sapphire XC 3D printer. The first set of systems is expected to be delivered at the end of the year to customers in aerospace, defense, energy, and more.
“Becoming a public company is a significant milestone for Velo3D, however, this is merely a means to help us with what our team aims to accomplish,” said Benny Buller, CEO and Founder at Velo3D. “Velo3D’s end-to-end additive manufacturing solution is redefining what’s possible for the production of mission-critical metal parts. We will continue to push the limits of additive manufacturing technology so our customers can innovate without compromise. I would like to thank the entire Velo3D team for making all of this possible.”
SPAC mergers in additive manufacturing
The past year has seen a huge surge in SPAC mergers in the 3D printing industry. One of the latest announcements came from digital manufacturing service provider Fast Radius, which announced that it intends to go public by merging with ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities. With an estimated value of $995 million, the new enterprise is set to be backed by $445 million in cash proceeds from the transaction, with Fast Radius shareholders enrolling 100% of their equity.
Elsewhere, on-demand manufacturing service provider Fathom Digital Manufacturing recently revealed that it intends to go public via a merger with blank check firm Altimar Acquisition Corp. II. Through the deal, the HPS Investment Partners-supported Altimar will combine with Fathom to form a $1.5 billion firm that’s set to be backed with $80 million in funding, and become listed on the NYSE under ‘FDMG’.
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Featured image shows a range of components that were 3D printed using Shapeways’ online platform. Photo via Shapeways.
