PureCycle (PCT) : 3-year performance

PureCycle is a plastic recycling company that holds a global license to commercialize a solvent-based purification recycling technology. The technology was developed by Procter & Gamble and restores waste polypropylene into virgin-like resin

• Sector(s): Industrials
• Industry: Pollution & Treatment Controls
• Full Time Employees: 146
• founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida
• https://www.purecycle.com

PureCycle Technologies (PCT) went public and listed on the Nasdaq on March 18, 2021. 

Business combination with Roth CH Acquisition I Co. (NASDAQ: ROCH)

daily

Intuitive Machines (LUNR) began trading on the Nasdaq on Tue 14 Feb 23

Commercial lunar lander company Intuitive Machines has completed its merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on Feb. 13, raising far less money than originally anticipated.

The company designs, manufactures, and operates space products and services in the United States.

It also offers aerospace engineering services to NASA and the aerospace industry. 

• Sector(s): Industrials
• Industry: Aerospace & Defense
• Founded in 2013 
• HQ in Houston, Texas
• https://www.intuitivemachines.com

The companies announced the merger in September 2022, long after the mania surrounding SPACs has cooled both in the space industry and the overall market. Inflection Point had $301 million of cash in trust, and the companies said they had arranged an additional $55 million in investment from the SPAC’s sponsors and a founder of Intuitive Machines, along with $50 million CF Principal Investments LLC, an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald & Company. In an investor presentation linked to the merger announcement, the companies anticipated having more than $330 million in cash after transaction expenses.

However, in the Feb. 13 announcement that the merger had closed, the companies announced only $55 million of “committed capital from an affiliate of its sponsor and company founders.” The companies did not mention any proceeds of the SPAC itself, which could have been depleted by redemptions, where SPAC shareholders request their money back rather than hold stock in the merged company.

Despite raising less money than anticipated, company executives said the deal will help Intuitive Machines continue development of a series of commercial lunar landers and related infrastructure, like communications satellites in lunar orbit.

Grindr (GRND) began trading on the NYSE on Fri 18 Nov 22

Grindr, which launched in 2009, reported roughly 11 million daily users per day last year. Users sent a combined 260 million messages in that same period, and spent an average of 61 minutes per day on the app. In the same announcement, Grindr estimated the value of its "highly engaged user base in a large and untapped addressable market" at $4 billion.

• Grindr begins trading on NYSE today after completing business combination with Tiga Acquisition Corp. (TINV) 

 

 

Polestar (PSNY) began trading on the Nasdaq on Fri 24 June 22

• Polestar already has more than 55,000 vehicles on the road in China, Europe and the U.S. It has a factory up and running in China and an assembly line set to begin production later this year in a South Carolina factory shared with Volvo.
• Polestar began as a joint venture between Volvo Cars and its Chinese owner Zhejiang Geely in 2017.
• CEO Thomas Ingenlath

First day of trading, June 24, the EV maker’s shares ended the day at $13.00, up 15.8% .

So far, most SPAC mergers with electric vehicle companies haven’t worked out well for investors. Even the relatively more successful cases of Lucid Group, Fisker and Nikola are currently trading at 67%, 69% and 92% below their post-merger highs, respectively. EV truck maker Rivian, which went public via a traditional IPO, has also struggled. Its shares are down 84% from its post-IPO high.

Over the next three years, the company plans to add three vehicles to its current model, the compact Polestar 2 crossover built in China. The additions are a large SUV, the Polestar 3; a midsize crossover, the Polestar 4; and a large sedan, the Polestar 5, which is intended to serve as the brand’s flagship vehicle.

All will be fully electric and all will be offered in the U.S., Europe and China. Polestar plans to build its vehicles in all three regions.

Getty Images (GETY) began trading on the NYSE on Mon 25 July 22

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. operates as a visual content creator and marketplace in the United States and internationally.

• Sector(s): Communication Services
• Industry: Internet Content & Information
• Full Time Employees: 1,600 
• Founded in 1995 
• Based in Seattle, Washington.
• https://www.gettyimages.com

On July 25, it completed a SPAC deal with CC Neuberger Principal Holdings II and began trading under the ticker GETY.

Jennifer Leyden SVP and CFO of Getty Images.

Aug 15, 22

Getty Images was founded in 1995 and listed on the Nasdaq National Market in July 1996. But it went private when acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman in 2008. It was then bought by the Getty family in 2018. The company’s key customers are ad and graphic design companies, print and online media, and corporate marketing, communications, and in-house design departments.

In Q2, Getty Images reported revenue of $233.3 million, an increase of 4.1% year over year. Editorial revenue reached $82.9 million, up 15% year over year and 19.8% on a currency-neutral basis. Getty Images has photographers covering events all over the world, and you’ve probably seen their work in the news. I asked Leyden, CFO since January, but with the company since 2016 in various financial leadership roles, how the company deals with the risk of dispatching photographers covering the war in Ukraine, for example. 

The tech space

Getty Images’ library of owned content, includes “an archive with about 135 million images dating back to the beginning of photography,” which will be an asset when it comes to Web3.0 and NFT (non-fungible tokens), Leyden says. NFTs can be used to represent photos on the blockchain.

The company has formed a multi-year partnership with Candy Digital, a digital collectible company, to become the exclusive developer and marketplace for Getty Images NFTs. “We’ll start with some of our own content, and basically sell [that] content as NFTs with Candy Digital being marketplace,” Leyden says. I asked Getty Images if they will split revenue from image sales with Candy Digital, but was told: “the terms of the deal are not something we can disclose.”

SoFi Technologies (SOFI) began trading on the Nasdaq on Tue 1 June 21

SoFi Technologies is an online personal finance company and online bank. It provides financial products including student and auto loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, credit card, investing, and banking. 

• Sector(s): Financial Services
• Industry: Credit Services
• Full Time Employees: 2,500
• Founded in 2011 
• HQ in San Francisco, California
• https://www.sofi.com

SoFi attracted funding from investors such as Peter Thiel, private equity firm Silver Lake and SoftBank, according to PitchBook.

Went public in a $8.65 billion deal with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings V, the latest blank-check company from venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya.

Other Chamath SPACs: Opendoor Technologies (OPEN), Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE), Clover Health Investments (CLOV)

On the first day of trading the stock closed up more than 12% to $22.65.

 

 

 

 Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi

Grindr to go public in $2.1 bln SPAC deal

(Reuters) - Gay dating app Grindr said on Monday it would go public through a merger with a blank-check acquisition firm - a deal that values it at $2.1 billion and features Tiga Investments CEO Raymond Zage on both sides of the transaction.

Grindr said its existing shareholders would own 78% of the company after the merger, which comes two years after China's Kunlun Tech Co (300418.SZ) divested it for $620 million due to U.S. national security concerns.

While Grindr did not disclose the identities of its existing shareholders, Reuters previously reported that Zage had a 41% stake in the consortium that acquired Grindr. A source familiar with the matter said on Monday that Zage continues to be an investor in Grindr.

Tiga Acquisition Corp (TINV.N), the Singapore-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that will merge with Grindr, is controlled by Zage.

Under the deal, Grindr will receive $284 million in cash from Tiga and up to $100 million in a forward purchase agreement.

Grindr and Tiga expect that their deal may require clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which scrutinizes deals for potential national security risks, according to a copy of their merger agreement that was made public on Monday.

CFIUS ordered Kunlun to sell Grindr in 2019 over concerns that the personal data of U.S. users could be accessed or exploited by China's government.

It could not be learned if CFIUS had a role in Grindr's decision to explore a sale and merger with a SPAC. A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department, that chairs CFIUS, did not respond to a request for comment.

Anghami (ANGH) began trading on the Nasdaq on Fri 4 Feb 22

Anghami is the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world. It launched in November 2011 in Lebanon, providing unlimited Arabic and international music to stream and download for offline mode. Wikipedia

• Founder(s): Eddy Maroun; Elie Habib
• Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Founded: 2012 in Lebanon
• Sector(s): Communication Services
• Industry: Entertainment
• Rival: Spotify (SPOT)
• Full Time Employees: 107
• https://www.anghami.com

First Arab tech company listed on the Nasdaq

Business combination with Vistas Media Acquisition (NASDAQ: VMAC)

 

 

 

 Founders Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib

BuzzFeed (BZFD) began trading on the Nasdaq on Mon 6 Dec 21

Digital media company BuzzFeed (BZFD) went public on Monday after a SPAC merger that valued the firm at $1.5 billion, setting it apart from peers like Vox and Vice that remain private.

• Sector(s): Communication Services
• Industry: Internet Content & Information
• Founded in 2006 
• HQ in New York, New York
• https://www.buzzfeed.com

As part of the SPAC merger, the company acquired the sports and entertainment publishing company Complex for $300 million, expanding the staff to 1,400, BuzzFeed said.

The company expects to raise $16 million dollars from the SPAC deal, after investors pulled 94% of the $287.5 million raised by the SPAC.

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 06: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti stands in front of the Nasdaq market site in Times Square as the company goes public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company on December 06, 2021 in New York City. Shares of the digital media company, trading under the new ticker “BZFD,” rose 12.7% to $10.84 as markets opened Monday.

Cano Health (CANO) began trading on the NYSE on Fri 4 June 21

Cano Health operates primary-care medical centers in Florida, Texas, Nevada, and Puerto Rico. It serves mostly Medicare Advantage members.

• Sector(s): Healthcare
• Industry: Medical Care Facilities
• Full Time Employees: 4,365
• Largest shareholder: The Vanguard Group
• Founder: Marlow Hernandez
• Founded in 2009
• Headquartered in Miami, FL
• Merged with Barry Sternlicht's SPAC Jaws Acquisition Corp. (JWS)
• https://canohealth.com

CarLotz (LOTZ) began trading on the Nasdaq on Fri 22 Jan 21

 CarLotz, Inc. operates as a consignment-to-retail used consignment store.

• Sector(s): Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Auto & Truck Dealerships
• Full Time Employees: 166
• 8 locations and online sales
• Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia
• http://www.carlotz.com

Went public through a merger with a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition (SPAC) Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp., a Miami, Florida-based SPAC that was formed in 2018 and went public with a $300 million IPO in 2019.  Acamar Partners was led by private equity investors Juan Carlos Torres Carretero and Luis Ignacio Solorzano Aizpuru.

CarLotz was the third major U.S. online car seller to go public this past year after Vroom (VRM) and Shift Technologies Inc (SFT).

Online sales only account for around 1% of the roughly $840 billion Americans spend annually on used cars. But after numerous U.S. states went into COVID-19 lockdowns, the advantage of socially distant online sales has come into focus.

CarLotz co-founders Michael Bor (left), Will Boland (center) and Aaron Montgomery (right). 

CarLotz founders, from left, Michael Bor, Aaron Montgomery and Will Boland.

Skillz (SKLZ)

Skillz is a mobile gaming/esports platform where users can compete and game developers share revenue.

• Investors including Wellington, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Neuberger Berman funds have committed to a $159 million PIPE with total commitments exceeding $250 million.
• High growth business with projected 2022 revenue of $555 million, a 57% CAGR from 2020
• Andrew Paradise, CEO & Founder of Skillz, and Casey Chafkin, CRO and Founder of Skillz, will continue to lead the company
• Existing Skillz stockholders and Flying Eagle sponsor agreed to 24-month lock-up

Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FEAC) is headed by Harry Sloan, a media executive who was formerly the CEO of MGM. Sloan was also behind Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., which took fantasy sports platform DraftKings public via SPAC in 2020.

First day of trading Dec 17, 2020:  Opened at $17.89, closed $22.73.

Luminar Technologies (LAZR) : 3-month performance

• Luminar Technologies Inc started trading as a public company on Thursday under the ticker symbol LAZR, marking the second Silicon Valley firm to go public while working to deliver a key sensor for self-driving cars.
• Luminar makes a lidar sensor, which helps gives vehicles a three-dimensional view of the road. It became public through a merger with Gores Metropoulos Inc, a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, a shell company that uses proceeds from an IPO to acquire a private company, typically within two years.

NextGen Acquisition (NGAC) to merge with electric truck maker Xos

The Xos transaction is set to close in the second quarter with the combined company listing on the Nasdaq under the symbol XOS.

The deal will provide Xos with $575 million in proceeds and values the company at $2 billion. It expects to be cash flow positive by 2023.

Unlike many EV startups debuting on the stock market, Xos has EVs on the road. It also offers a package that bundles commercial electric trucks and vehicle services to fleet operators for a monthly fee. Customers include UPS (UPS).

The transaction includes a $220 mln oversubscribed and fully committed common stock PIPE anchored by Janus Henderson Investors, as well as a consortium of truck dealers led by Thompson Truck Centers.

Xos is expected to deliver industry-leading total cost of ownership through proprietary purpose-built battery and powertrain systems, integrated vehicle software and controls, and a modular OEM powertrain architecture built on the adaptable X-Platform. Multi-year manufacturing partnership with Metalsa for purpose-built frame rails and chassis components.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 and the combined company will be listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "XOS".

Clover Health Investments (CLOV) began trading on the Nasdaq on Fri 8 Jan 21

Social Capital Hedosophia Hldgs Corp. III (IPOC) announces closing of business combination with Clover Health. The newly formed company is named Clover Health Investments, and its shares of Class A commonstock and warrants will start trading on theNasdaq Global Select Market under the new ticker symbols"CLOV" and "CLOVW," respectively.

Clover Health Investments provides Medicare Advantage health plans to 57,000 members.

• Sector(s): Healthcare
• Industry: Healthcare Plans
• Full Time Employees: 327
• http://www.cloverhealth.com
• Founded in 2012 
• Based in Franklin, Tennessee.

 

Chamath Palihapitiya on CNBC

 

Clover Health Investments (CLOV) and the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by Chamath Palihapitiya that took the tech-focused healthcare company public in January came under attack on Thursday based on claims by Hindenburg Research.

The report claims that Clover unfairly lured retail investors into purchasing shares while failing to disclose that it was under active investigation by the Department of Justice.

Clover, which sells Medicare insurance, has a mission of serving “low-income and often overlooked communities.” According to Hindenburg, a civil investigative demand letter shows that the Department of Justice is investigating 12 issues related to Clover, including its software “Clover Assistant,” as well as kickbacks, marketing practices, and undisclosed third-party deals.

• https://hindenburgresearch.com/clover/
  

-=Collective Growth Corporation (CGRO) partners with Macnica

 

Collective Growth Corporation partners with Macnica, Japan's largest distribution company

Innoviz Technologies, an Israeli LiDAR company founded by former officers of Israel's Defence Forces elite technology division, known as "Unit 81", which recently announced its intention to go public through a SPAC merger with Collective Growth Corporation, based in Texas, at a market value of $1.4B, has partnered with Macnica, Japan's largest distribution company and a global technology solutions distribution company, to sell its flagship product, InnovizOne, in Japan for the first time. InnovizOne has been selected by BMW for use in its fully electric iX autonomous car program.

Macnica announced their intention to sell InnovizOne in the Japanese market last month, and have since been inundated with purchase orders for Innoviz's solid-state 3D MEMS-based long-range LiDAR, which leads the high-spec LiDAR market by dint of its maturity and Innoviz's long-standing and very close relationship with the Tier1 company Magna and customer BMW.

Consumer tech SPAC Science Strategic Acquisition Alpha files for a $225 million IPO

Science Strategic Acquisition Alpha, a blank check company formed by venture firm Science Inc. targeting consumer tech, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $225 million in an initial public offering.

The Santa Monica, CA-based company plans to raise $225 million by offering 22.5 million units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At the proposed deal size, Science Strategic Acquisition Alpha would command a market value of $281 million.

The company is led by CEO and Chairman Michael Jones, CFO Thomas Dare, and President Peter Pham, who collectively co-founded studio and venture fund Science Inc. and have served as Managing Directors since 2011. Science Strategic Acquisition Alpha’s search for a target will be differentiated and targeted on the areas in which the management team has expertise in driving business transformations and creating value for investors: Direct-to-consumer (D2C) Brands, D2C Services & Marketplaces, and Mobile & Social Entertainment.

Science Strategic Acquisition Alpha was founded in 2020 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol SSAAU. It filed confidentially on November 6, 2020. Credit Suisse is the sole bookrunner on the deal.

Space company Momentus looks to go public through a SPAC

ticker: MNTS

• Space transportation company Momentus Space was founded in 2017 to develop a “last-mile” transportation system for satellites launched into orbit, using a novel water-based propulsion system. 
• The company is expected to go public on the NASDAQ in early 2021through Stable Road’s special purpose acquisition vehicle that it raised $172.5 million for in November 2019.
• Momentus offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, with a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.
• Stable Road’s SPAC is listed under the ticker symbol “SRAC.” Stable Road filings for the SPAC as recently as June note that it was “focusing its search on companies in the cannabis industry,” although the firm did not limit itself to acquiring a company in that particular sector.

Mikhail Kokorich visits SpaceX headquarters in 2012 alongside then-Roscosmos director Vladimir Popovkin, with Elon Musk in the background.

Momentus is a Santa Clara, California-based company that offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft. The core of Momentus’ business is Vigoride, which is a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit. Vigoride consists of a frame, an engine, solar panels, avionics and a set of satellite deployers and is especially designed for satellites that hitch a ride on large rockets, an increasingly popular industry practice called ridesharing.

Investors worry that the transaction may face unusual scrutiny because Momentus CEO Mikhail Kokorich, though credited with a majority of the company’s inventions, is legally barred from accessing the firm’s technology by US national security law, according to a Nov. 2 SEC filing.

SPAC critics say the method of going public lends itself to companies looking to avoid the scrutiny of a typical public offering in a frothy market driven by retail investors.

Developing cutting-edge space technology is a legally challenging business. Much of what makes the most advanced commercial satellites effective—microchips that can withstand the harsh environment of space, precision engineering and manufacturing, finely-calibrated sensors, and powerful software algorithms—is considered “dual-use” technology; that is, it has both civilian and military applications. The US government regulates this technology to make sure foreign governments don’t have access to it.

Technology SPAC Ark Global Acquisition files for a $250 million IPO

Ark Global Acquisition, a blank check company led by a former Groupon CEO and QIA fund manager targeting disruptive technology, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $250 million in an initial public offering.

The Nashville, TN-based company plans to raise $250 million by offering 25 million units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At the proposed deal size, Ark Global Acquisition would command a market value of $313 million.

The company is led by CEO and Director Rich Williams, current advisor at The Value Studio and former CEO of Groupon, and Chairman Sultan Almaadeed, founder of investment platform ENVST and former fund manager at the Qatar Investment Authority who served as Chairman of the Tender Committee. They are joined by CFO Stephen Krenzer, founder of Trabuco Canyon Advisors and former COO of Groupon. 

Ark Global Acquisition intends to explore acquisitions of disruptive technology companies with defensible market positions and an enterprise value of more than $750 million, focusing on consumer internet and marketplaces, healthtech, fintech and mobility companies.

Ark Global Acquisition was founded in 2020 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ARKI.U. Jefferies is the sole bookrunner on the deal. 

Desktop Metal (DM) began trading on the NYSE on Thur 10 Dec 20

Desktop Metal went public via a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Trine Acquisition Corp.

• Desktop Metal, Inc. is the only publicly traded pure-play Additive Manufacturing 2.0 company, offering the fastest metal 3D printing technology in the market.
• The company projected 2025 sales of $942M will require an influx of substantial capital given the high cost of continued innovation.

Sector(s): Technology
Industry: Computer Hardware
Full Time Employees: 202
http://www.desktopmetal.com

 

 

 Desktop Metal, Inc. (NYSE:DM) is a Delaware corporation founded in 2015 and located in Burlington, MA. The stated mission of the company is to make metal and carbon fiber 3D printing accessible to all engineers, designers, and manufacturers. Since inception, the company has been a veritable “money magnet” and attracted total funding of $438M, which was then the largest capital raised by any private 3D printing company to date according to the company’s website.