General SPAC
December 16, 2020
5 minutes read

Air Taxi Startup Blade To Go Public

Blade, an on-demand helicopter transport startup, has sealed a deal to go public by merging with the blank-check firm Experience Investment…

Blade, an on-demand helicopter transport startup, has sealed a deal to go public by merging with the blank-check firm Experience Investment Corp. The merger will hand over $400 million in cash to Blade and see it become publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

The merger is expected to value Blade at $825 million upon its completion and will see Blade become the first air taxi startup of its kind to become publicly traded.

Based out of New York, Blade is a platform that offers on-demand helicopter rides for both humans and cargo. The company has a service tailored for short-distance flights between cities, flights between New York area airports, and a courier service for hospitals, particularly for the movement of human organs.

In addition to helicopter flights, Blade has also ventured into other air transit modes such as seaplanes and private jet flights.

Blade doesn’t own helicopters and planes of its own but partners with aviation operators to offer its service. Founded in 2014, the company has raised some $50 million in venture funding from investors including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Lerer Hippeau, and the airplane manufacturer Airbus.

Blade was co-founded by Rob Wiesenthal, who before starting the company was an entertainment industry veteran who served as Chief Operating Officer of Warner Music Group and as Chief Financial Officer of Sony Corporation of America.

Wiesenthal founded Blade, his first entrepreneurial venture, at 48 years old and now, six years after is set to score an exit valued in the hundreds of millions.

From its merger, Blade will be handed $275 million in cash raised by Experience Investment Corp in its debut last year plus an extra $125 million committed by investors including the media and entertainment moguls Barry Diller (IAC Chairman), David Geffen, and David Zaslav.

The merger is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

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