SPAC: Auto Data Startup Wejo To Go Public In $800M Deal
- GeneralSPAC
- May 30, 2021
- 148
- 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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