SPAC: Auto Data Startup Wejo To Go Public In $800M Deal

General SPAC
May 30, 2021
462
6 minutes read

It’s yet another day with another SPAC merger. This time, it’s Wejo, an automotive data startup backed by investors including automaker General Motors. Wejo has agreed to a deal to merge with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:VOSO).

Wejo is a startup that collects automotive data from manufacturer sensors and sells it as a package to companies looking to gather insights for their businesses. It’s a British startup, making it stand out as one of the few startups from the UK to get a SPAC deal.

Details:

Wejo’s SPAC deal values the startup at $800mn including debt. It’ll get $330mn in gross proceeds from the merger, consisting of $230mn from Virtuoso and a $100mn PIPE round led by existing investors General Motors and Palantir.

For the $100mn PIPE round, Wejo says it’s holding talks with unnamed strategic investors that could add $25mn to it.

Following the close of the merger, Wejo will have an estimated $300mn of cash and $32mn of debt. The cash balance is ample to fund the company’s expansion plans.

According to its investor presentation, Wejo made just $1.3mn in revenue in 2020. But with the ostentatious revenue projections that have become usual in SPAC deals, the company is projecting $764mn in annual revenue by 2025.

For 2021, Wejo is projecting $4.3mn in sales. That would make its $800mn valuation a whopping 186x its sales projection for this year.

Founded in 2014 and still with minimal revenues, Wejo has sustained itself so far on the backs of major venture funding to the tune of $130mn. Automaker GM and data analytics company Palantir are two of its anchor investors.

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