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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 22, 2026
Blaize Holdings, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Delaware | 001-41139 | 86-2708752 |
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer
Identification No.) |
| | | | |
4659 Golden Foothill Parkway, Suite 206 | |
El Dorado Hills, California | | 95762 |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | | (Zip Code) |
| | |
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: 916 347-0050 |
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Title of each class | | Trading
Symbol(s) | |
Name of each exchange on which registered |
| Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share | | BZAI | | The Nasdaq Stock Market |
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock,
par value $0.0001 per share | | | | |
| Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | | BZAIW | | The Nasdaq Stock Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
The information set forth under “Item 3.03 Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders” of this Current Report on Form 8-K with respect to the entry into a Rights Agreement is incorporated into this Item 1.01 by reference.
Item 3.03 Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders.
On April 22, 2026, Blaize Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Rights Agreement between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company as Rights Agent (as amended from time to time, the “Rights Agreement”) that was previously approved by the Board of Directors of the Company.
In connection with the Rights Agreement, a dividend was declared of one preferred stock purchase right (individually, a “Right” and collectively, the “Rights”) for each share of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company outstanding at the close of business on May 6, 2026 (the “Record Date”). Each Right will entitle the registered holder thereof, after the Rights become exercisable and until April 21, 2027 (or the earlier redemption, exchange or termination of the Rights), to purchase from the Company one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred”), of the Company at a price of $11.00 per one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Preferred (the “Purchase Price”). Until the earlier to occur of (i) the close of business on the tenth business day following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons has acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, beneficial ownership of 10% or more of the Common Stock (an “Acquiring Person”) or (ii) the close of business on the tenth business day (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time as any person or group of affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement or announcement of an intention to make a tender offer or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in a person or group becoming an Acquiring Person (the earlier of (i) and (ii) being called the “Distribution Date”), the Rights will be evidenced, with respect to any of the Common Stock certificates outstanding as of the Record Date, by such Common Stock certificates, or, with respect to any uncertificated Common Stock registered in book entry form, by notation in book entry, in either case together with a copy of the Summary of Rights attached as Exhibit C to the Rights Agreement. Under the Rights Agreement, synthetic ownership of Common Stock in the form of derivative securities counts towards the ownership threshold, to the extent actual shares of Common Stock equivalent to the economic exposure created by the derivative security are directly or indirectly beneficially owned by a counterparty to such derivative security.
The Rights Agreement provides that any person who beneficially owned 10% or more of the Common Stock immediately prior to the first public announcement of the adoption of the Rights Agreement, together with any affiliates and associates of that person (each an “Existing Holder”), shall not be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” for purposes of the Rights Agreement unless an Existing Holder becomes the beneficial owner of one or more additional shares of Common Stock (other than pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding Common Stock in Common Stock or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock) and upon acquiring such additional shares, the Existing Holder beneficially owns 10% or more of the Common Stock then outstanding or if the Existing Holder exchanges synthetic ownership of Common Stock to another form of beneficial ownership (other than pursuant to the express terms of a written agreement as it existed immediately prior to the first public announcement of the Rights Agreement).
The Rights will be transferred only with the Common Stock until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption, exchange, termination or expiration of the Rights). As soon as practicable following the Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing the Rights (“Right Certificates”) will be mailed to holders of record of the Common Stock as of the close of business on the Distribution Date and such separate Right Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date. The Rights will expire on April 21, 2027, subject to the Company’s right to extend such date, unless earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company or terminated.
Each share of Series A Preferred purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will be entitled, when, as and if declared, to a minimum preferential quarterly dividend payment of $1.00 per share or, if greater, an aggregate dividend of 100 times the dividend, if any, declared per share of Common Stock. In the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, the holders of the Series A Preferred will be entitled to a minimum preferential liquidation payment of $100 per share (plus any accrued but unpaid dividends), provided that such holders of the Series A Preferred will be entitled to an aggregate payment of 100 times the payment made per share of Common Stock. Each share of Series A Preferred will have 100 votes and will vote together with the Common Stock. Finally, in the event of any merger, consolidation or other transaction in which shares of the Common Stock are exchanged, each share of Series A Preferred will be entitled to receive 100 times the amount received per share of Common Stock. The Series A Preferred will not be redeemable. The Rights are protected by customary anti-dilution provisions. Because of the nature of the Series
A Preferred’s dividend and liquidation rights, the value of one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Preferred purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the value of one share of Common Stock.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Preferred or other securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the Rights are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the Series A Preferred, (ii) upon the grant to holders of the Series A Preferred of certain rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase Series A Preferred or convertible securities at less than the current market price of the Series A Preferred or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of the Series A Preferred of evidences of indebtedness, cash, securities or assets (excluding regular periodic cash dividends at a rate not in excess of 125% of the rate of the last regular periodic cash dividend theretofore paid or, in case regular periodic cash dividends have not theretofore been paid, at a rate not in excess of 50% of the average net income per share of the Company for the four quarters ended immediately prior to the payment of such dividend, or dividends payable in shares of Series A Preferred (which dividends will be subject to the adjustment described in clause (i) above)) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).
In the event that a person becomes an Acquiring Person or if the Company were the surviving corporation in a merger with an Acquiring Person or any affiliate or associate of an Acquiring Person and shares of the Common Stock were not changed or exchanged in such merger, each holder of a Right, other than Rights that are or were acquired or beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person (which Rights will thereafter be void), will thereafter have the right to receive upon exercise that number of shares of Common Stock having a market value of two times the then current Purchase Price of one Right. In the event that, after a person has become an Acquiring Person, the Company were acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction or more than 50% of its assets or earning power were sold, proper provision shall be made so that each holder of a Right shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then current Purchase Price of the Right, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company which at the time of such transaction would have a market value of two times the then current Purchase Price of one Right.
At any time after a person becomes an Acquiring Person and prior to the earlier of one of the events described in the last sentence of the previous paragraph or the acquisition by such Acquiring Person of 50% or more of the then outstanding Common Stock, the Board of Directors may cause the Company to exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by an Acquiring Person which have become void), in whole or in part, for shares of Common Stock at an exchange rate of one share of Common Stock per Right (subject to adjustment).
No adjustment in the Purchase Price will be required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% in such Purchase Price. No fractional shares of Series A Preferred or Common Stock will be issued (other than fractions of Series A Preferred which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Preferred, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depository receipts), and in lieu thereof, a payment in cash will be made based on the market price of the Series A Preferred or Common Stock on the last trading date prior to the date of exercise.
The Rights may be redeemed in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.01 per Right (the “Redemption Price”) by the Board of Directors at any time prior to the time that an Acquiring Person has become such. The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company beyond those as an existing stockholder, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends.
Any of the provisions of the Rights Agreement may be amended by the Board of Directors of the Company, or a duly authorized committee thereof, for so long as the Rights are then redeemable, and after the Rights are no longer redeemable, the Company may amend or supplement the Rights Agreement in any manner that does not adversely affect the interests of the holders of the Rights (other than an Acquiring Person or any affiliate or associate of an Acquiring Person).
One Right will be distributed to stockholders of the Company for each share of Common Stock owned of record by them on May 6, 2026. As long as the Rights are attached to the Common Stock, the Company will issue one Right with each new share of Common Stock so that all such shares will have attached Rights. The Company has agreed that, from and after the Distribution Date, the Company will reserve 6,000,000 shares of Series A Preferred initially for issuance upon exercise of the Rights.
The Rights are designed to assure that all of the Company’s stockholders receive fair and equal treatment in the event of any proposed takeover of the Company and to guard against partial tender offers, open market accumulations and other abusive or coercive tactics to gain control of the Company without paying all stockholders a control premium. The Rights will cause substantial dilution
to a person or group that acquires 10% or more of the Common Stock on terms not approved by the Company’s Board of Directors. The Rights will not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the Board of Directors at any time prior to the first date that a person or group has become an Acquiring Person.
The Certificate of Designations establishing the terms of the Series A Preferred, the Rights Agreement specifying the terms of the Rights and the text of the press release announcing the declaration of the Rights are incorporated herein by reference as exhibits to this Current Report. The foregoing summary of the Rights Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to such exhibits.
Item 5.03 Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.
To the extent applicable, the information set forth under “Item 3.03 Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders” of this Current Report on Form 8-K with respect to the Certificate of Designations and Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock is incorporated into this Item 5.03 by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
| | | | | | | | |
| Exhibit No. | | Description |
| 3.1 | | Certificate of Designations of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of Blaize Holdings, Inc., filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on April 22, 2026. |
| 4.1 | | Rights Agreement, dated as of April 22, 2026, between Blaize Holdings, Inc. and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, which includes the Form of Certificate of Designations of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A, the Form of Right Certificate as Exhibit B and the Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Stock as Exhibit C. |
| 99.1 | | Press Release, dated April 22, 2026 |
| 104 | | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL Document). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Date: April 22, 2026 | | | Blaize Holdings, Inc. |
| | | |
| | | By: /s/ Kim Evans |
| | | Kim Evans |
| | | General Counsel |
Blaize Adopts Limited Duration Stockholder Rights Plan
Board Takes Action to Protect the Best Interests of All Blaize Stockholders
EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) – April 22, 2026 – Blaize Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: BZAI, Nasdaq: BZAIW) (“Blaize” or “the Company”), a leader in programmable, energy-efficient AI computing, today announced that it has adopted a limited duration stockholder rights plan, which is scheduled to expire on April 21, 2027.
The Board of Directors of the Company (“Board”) adopted the rights plan in response to a specific threat of stockholders seeking to form a group the size of which would pose the risk of negative or actual control of the Company without appropriately compensating all the Company’s stockholders.
The rights plan is designed to allow all stockholders the opportunity to realize the value of their investment, is intended to ensure that the Board remains in the best position to perform its fiduciary duties, and enables all stockholders to receive fair and equal treatment.
Under the rights plan, the rights will become exercisable if an entity, person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 10% or more of Blaize’s common shares. In the event the ownership threshold is crossed and the rights become exercisable, each right will entitle its holder (other than the person, entity or group triggering the rights plan, whose rights will become void and will not be exercisable) to purchase shares of common stock at a 50% discount to the then-current market price or the Company may exchange each right held by such holders for one share of common stock.
Under the rights plan, any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of Blaize’s common shares at the time the plan is adopted may continue to own the shares but may not acquire any additional shares without triggering the rights plan.
The rights plan does not prevent any action that the Board determines to be in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders.
Further details about the rights plan will be contained in a Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Blaize
Blaize delivers a programmable AI platform, purpose-built for inference in real world environments. Its Hybrid AI architecture enables Practical AI and Physical AI workloads to run efficiently at the edge while integrating seamlessly with cloud and GPU based infrastructure. Blaize solutions support computer vision, multimodal AI, and sensor driven applications across smart cities, industrial automation, telecommunications, retail, logistics, and defense. Blaize is headquartered in El Dorado Hills, California, with a global presence across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. To learn more, visit www.blaize.com or follow us on LinkedIn @blaizeinc.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to Blaize, including statements regarding the anticipated benefits and expected consequences of the rights plan that Blaize has adopted. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “target,” “seek” or the negative or plural of these words, or other similar expressions that are predictions or indicate future events or prospects, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about
future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to those factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 24, 2026, and other documents filed by Blaize from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Blaize assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC. Blaize does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.
Blaize Contact
press@blaize.com
www.blaize.com
Investors
ir@blaize.com
www.blaize.com
