Urgent.ly merges with Israeli company, goes public

Vienna-based roadside assistance tech company Urgent.ly has merged with Israel-based Otonomo Technologies, another vehicle technology business, and the combined company publicly listed its stock on Nasdaq on Oct. 19.

The all-stock acquisition — a reverse merger allowing the combined business to go public, as an alternative to a traditional initial public offering — was first announced in February. Urgent.ly’s existing stockholders — among them BMW iVentures, Mithaq Capital and Iron Gate Urgently — now own 60.3% of the business. Shareholders of Otonomo, now a subsidiary of Urgent.ly, will own 39.7% of the company, now trading under the ticker symbol ULY.

The combined company’s value on Oct. 19 was estimated to be $282 million, with common stock valued prior to closing Oct. 18 at $21.18 per share. At opening on Oct. 19, Urgent.ly’s stock was trading at $12 per share on Nasdaq, and at 2:15 p.m. Monday, it was down 22% to $4.11 a share.

In 2022, Urgent.ly was valued at $185 million, according to the company, and Urgent.ly has been named to Inc. 5000’s list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. multiple times. In 2017, it raised $10 million in Series B funding and two years later raised another $21 million. In documents filed earlier this year with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Urgent.ly reported $187.6 million in revenue for 2022, as well as a $96 million net loss for that year.

“I am thrilled to announce the completion of this transaction, which further strengthens Urgent.ly’s unique market position as a leading roadside assistance software provider,” Matt Booth, CEO of Urgent.ly, said in a statement. “This acquisition is the result of the outstanding contributions of our employees and the support of our powerful ecosystem of customer partners and service provider professionals. We are committed to leading the transformation to connected mobility and we look forward to continuing to improve proactive and preventative customer experiences.”

Booth leads the combined company as CEO, Tim Huffmyer continues as chief financial officer, and Otonomo’s CEO and co-founder, Ben Volkow, joins the new company’s board of directors and serves as an adviser. Booth has been CEO of Urgent.ly since August 2022 and has been president since December 2020, according to his LinkedIn page. Urgent.ly was founded in 2013, and has customers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.