- GeneralSPAC
- June 5, 2021
- 5 minutes read
Alert: Palantir Goes On SPAC Investing Spree
In our constant quest of tracing signals on the stock markets, we’ve picked up one subtle signal in the world…
In our constant quest of tracing signals on the stock markets, we’ve picked up one subtle signal in the world of special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and it involves Palantir, the publicly traded data analytics company and a hot stock in its right.
- It happens that Palantir has gotten keen on investing in SPAC deals, at least six in less than three months. The latest deal was the merger of British telehealth startup Babylon Health which Palantir committed to invest in as part of a PIPE round.
- Before Babylon Health, Palantir had agreed to invest in the SPAC deals of Wejo, a British automotive data startup; Lilium, a German air taxi company; Sarcos Robotics, a maker of industrial robots; Celularity, a clinical-stage biotech company; and drugmaker Roivant Sciences.
- Palantir’s focus on SPAC deals is unique among strategic investors, mainly for the fact that it’s betting on more established companies that are often already valued in the billions of dollars.
- Palantir’s SPAC investments are strategic and often come packaged with business deals, such as Roivant Health signing a five-year subscription contract with Palantir as the latter indicated in its latest quarterly report. It’s also the case with Celularity, Sarcos Robotics, and Babylon Health, the three of which have signed product deals with Palantir.
- Also in its quarterly report, Palantir noted that it signed a deal to invest $20mn in the SPAC deal of a “mobility company” that it didn’t name, and the unnamed company signed a five-year subscription deal with Palantir. Putting ones and twos together, we think that the unnamed company is e-scooter startup Bird.
- Palantir has apparently gone on a SPAC shopping spree and we feel it’s good to point that out to stock market devotees. Maybe we should expect more SPAC deals coming from the data analytics company soon.
- Palantir has had a good run in less than a year of existing on the public markets (it went public in September 2020). Its stock price has soared from $10 at debut to $24 at market close on Friday.
