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Tag: special purpose acquisition company

Cvent goes public again

Tysons-based event software company Cvent Holding Corp. began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market Dec. 9 after closing its merger the day before with San Francisco-based SPAC Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp. II.

The move is Cvent’s second time going public. In 2016, Vista Equity Partners acquired it for $1.65 billion and took it private. The deal with Dragoneer was first announced in July and valued what was then Cvent Inc. at about $5.3 billion.

The company registered 487 million shares at a maximum price of $9.96 a share, according to Dragoneer’s S-4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It is trading under the ticker symbol “CVT.” As of 4 p.m. Thursday, shares were trading for $8.10.

Cvent adapted to provide remote events software in addition to its live event management services amid the pandemic. Its virtual events arm now generates more than $100 million in revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Cvent’s return to the public market reflects changes in the industry, Cvent CEO and founder Reggie Aggarwal said in a statement.

“Organizations around the world want to get back to meeting — whether virtually, in-person or both with hybrid — and are leveraging technology more than ever to connect with their attendees,” Aggarwal said. “We’ve invested heavily in our virtual and hybrid event solutions so that now, no matter how our nearly 21,000 customers want to bring people together, Cvent can help them deliver more engaging, impactful experiences.”

Founded in 1999, Cvent provides an event marketing and management platform using the software-as-a-service model. The company has more than 4,000 employees. It reported $134.1 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2021, a 13% increase from the same quarter last year.

Herndon’s BlackSky goes public after closing SPAC deal

Herndon- and Seattle-based geospatial intelligence and global monitoring company BlackSky Technology Inc. debuted on the New York Stock Exchange Friday after closing a SPAC merger originally announced in February.

As of 4:09 p.m. Friday, BlackSky shares were trading at $10.98. Prior to Thursday’s merger with Philadelphia-based special purpose acquisition company Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp., BlackSky was known as BlackSky Holdings Inc.

The combined company received about $283 million in gross proceeds, composed of about $103 million in cash held in trust by Osprey and the proceeds of a $180 million private investment in public equity (PIPE). Osprey’s shareholders approved the transaction on Wednesday.

“The Osprey team is very excited for [BlackSky CEO] Brian O’Toole and the BlackSky organization,” Osprey Co-Executive Chairman Jonathan Z. Cohen said in a statement. “We look forward to watching them execute on BlackSky’s strategic growth plan as a public company.”

O’Toole will continue to lead the combined company, and Will Porteous will remain chairman of BlackSky’s board.

“Our team is excited that we have reached this major milestone on our first-to-know mission to lead a new era of real-time global intelligence,” O’Toole said in a statement. “We are looking forward to this next chapter as a public company and the many opportunities that lie ahead in the new space economy.”

David DiDomenico, who heads JANA Partners LLC’s SPAC initiative and serves as president, CEO and a director of Osprey, will serve on the combined company’s board of directors. Magid Abraham, Timothy Harvey and James Tolonen will join BlackSky’s board.

Founded in 2014, BlackSky provides satellite imaging services using its satellite network and provides monitoring via machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision and natural language processing.

San Francisco space data firm to merge with Reston SPAC to go public

San Francisco-based space-based data and analytics firm Spire Global Inc. announced Monday it will merge with Reston-based special purpose acquisition company NavSight Holdings Inc. to become a public company.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but it values the combined company at $1.6 billion and is expected to produce $475 million in gross proceeds. 

Spire collects space-based data, which it provides through a subscription model to weather, aviation, maritime and government customers.

“Today, our proprietary data and solutions help customers solve some of earth’s greatest challenges, including net zero and climate change adaptation,” Spire founder and CEO Peter Platzer said in a statement. “It has been immensely inspiring to see customers from all over the world turn to Spire’s solutions to help them make decisions about their business with confidence and speed and we are excited about the continued growth ahead.”

The transaction is expected to close in summer 2021. Tiger Global Management, BlackRock Advisors, Hedosophia, Jaws Estates Capital and Bloom Tree Partners are providing a combined $230 million to the transaction.

 

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Tysons analytics firm Qomplx plans to go public

Tysons-based risk analytics firm Qomplx Inc. announced Monday its plan to go public through a merger agreement with Tailwind Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company backed by Philip Krim, co-founder and CEO of online mattress retailer Casper Sleep Inc. 

The deal values Qomplx, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol QPLX, at $1.4 billion, or $10 per share. Since its $78.6 million financing round from Cannae Holdings Inc. in 2019, Qomplx has seen steady growth. The company, which provides risk analytics services through a cloud platform that uses artificial intelligence, expects its 2021 pro forma revenue to be $141 million. It reported $96 million in 2020 revenue. 

“Reaching public markets via our partnership with Tailwind expedites Qomplx’s ability to reach more customers globally and supports our continued development of the core technology platform for mission-critical customer applications,” Qomplx co-founder and CEO Jason Crabtree said in a statement.

The merger is expected to be complete in mid-2021.

As part of the transaction, Qomplx will also acquire two cyber intelligence companies: Columbia, Maryland-based Sentar and Tyche, a European company. Financial details of the transactions were not released, but the acquisitions will add more software capabilities to Qomplx’s current offerings.

“Qomplx is differentiated in its ability to link specific data, security controls, and simulations to financial risk,” said Krim, who is also chairman of blank-check company Tailwind, in a statement. In September 2020, Tailwind announced its own $300 million initial public offering. Casper is also a public company, selling sleep products online and at retail locations.

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Herndon satellite company BlackSky to go public

Herndon- and Seattle-based global monitoring company BlackSky announced Thursday it will go public following its acquisition by Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp., a transaction that values the combined company at $1.1 billion.

Under the transaction, the special purpose acquisition corporation will merge with the Herndon company. BlackSky’s shareholders will own 62% of common shares of the merged company. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BKSY. 

Founded in 2014, BlackSky provides satellite imaging services using machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision and natural language processing.

“This transaction fully funds our growth plans and accelerates our vision of providing our customers with a ‘first-to-know’ advantage,” BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole said in a statement. “This is an important inflection point for our industry as commercial and government users demand access to real time information about the changes that matter most to them.”

The transaction is expected to close in July. Other investors in the deal include Tiger Global Management, Mithril Capital, Hedosophia and Senator Investment Group.

 

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CarLotz nominates four to board of directors

Chesterfield County-based CarLotz Inc., a consignment dealer of used cars, announced Thursday it has nominated four new members to its board of directors, effective following the closing of its merger with special purpose acquisition company Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp.

CarLotz, which is valued at $827 million, will combine with Miami-based Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp. to make it a public company. At closing, the company name will remain CarLotz Inc. and will be listed on the Nasdaq and trade under LOTZ. Acamar Partners is scheduled to hold a stockholders meeting to approve the proposed merger on Jan. 20, and the transaction is expected to close on Jan. 22.

Linda Abraham, Sarah Kauss, Kimberly Sheehy and James Skinner were nominated to sit on the board.

“Linda, Sarah, Kimberly and James are all pioneers in their industries and bring a wide diversity of thinking and experience to CarLotz,” CarLotz co-founder, CEO and Chairperson Michael Bor said in a statement. “We look forward to their energy, passion and wisdom as we continue our rapid growth.”

Abraham is the managing director of international investment bank and management consulting firm Crimson Capital and invests in and advises early-stage technology companies. She also founded digital measurement and analytics company comScore and Paragren Technologies, which was acquired by Oracle. She also serves on the boards of Site Centers, Tiger 21, Upskill, Zum and Humanest. She will serve as the chair of the compensation committee on CarLotz’s board.

Kauss is the chairwoman of New York-based reusable water bottle and insulated products company S’well, for which she served as CEO for 10 years. Before S’well, she worked in international real estate development and accounting. On the CarLotz board, she will serve as a member of the audit and compensation committees.

Sheehy most recently served as chief financial officer of Texas software company ResMan LLC and also previously served as chief financial officer of Lori’s Gifts and CyrusOne Inc. She will serve as the chair of the audit committee and a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee with CarLotz.

Skinner is the retired vice chairman of the $4 billion fashion retailer Neiman Marcus Group, where he also previously served as chief operating officer and CFO. He currently serves on the board of directors for Acamar Partners. Skinner will chair the nominating and corporate governance committee and be a member of the audit committee for CarLotz.

Founded in 2011 by Richmond-area entrepreneurs Bor, Aaron Montgomery and Will Boland, CarLotz opened its first store in Midlothian and later expanded to Henrico County, Richmond, Chesapeake as well as North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Illinois. The company now has eight locations and sells vehicles via its online platform.

 

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Arlington-based blank check company raises $300M in IPO

Arlington-based Capitol Investment Corp. V raised $300 million through its initial public offering, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) announced Wednesday.

Led by Chairman and CEO Mark D. Ein and President and CFO L. Dyson Dryden, the company was formed for the purpose of a merger or purchase of another company, though a news release from the company notes that “the company’s efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region.”

Capitol priced its IPO of 30 million units at $10 per unit, with trading starting Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The offering is expected to close Friday, and each shareholder is entitled to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50. Underwriters have been granted a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 4.5 million units to cover over-allotments.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are joint book-running managers of the offering. Ein and Dryden have led five SPACs — also known as blank check companies — over the past 13 years.

Ein’s earlier SPACs merged with real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment Corp., cruise company Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc., public relations software company Cision Ltd. and specialty equipment rental company Nesco Inc. Ein also is co-chairman of Kastle Holding Co. LLC, the majority owner of Kastle Systems, a Falls Church-based office security company.

Dryden is co-chairman of Nesco and previously served as a director of Cision, as well holding executive positions at BB& T Corp. and Citigroup.

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