SEATTLE — World View, an organization that’s growing stratospheric balloon platforms as an alternative choice to spacecraft for analysis and tourism, introduced Jan. 13 it should go public by a particular function acquisition firm (SPAC) merger.
World View mentioned it should merge with Leo Holdings Corp. II, a SPAC on the New York Inventory Alternate, in a deal that will worth the corporate at $350 million. The businesses mentioned they anticipate the deal to shut within the second quarter of the 12 months. Bloomberg first reported the upcoming deal Jan. 12.
World View would obtain as much as $121 million in gross proceeds from the SPAC, assuming there aren’t any redemptions by shareholders. Nevertheless, many SPAC offers have seen excessive redemption charges, the place SPAC shareholders ask for his or her a reimbursement fairly than take part within the merged firm, decreasing the proceeds.
The businesses mentioned within the announcement that the gross proceeds could also be accompanied by as much as $75 million in further financing, however the announcement provided no additional particulars concerning the proposed financing. It’s not unusual for SPAC offers to be accompanied by a non-public funding spherical.
World View says it should use the funding from the SPAC deal to increase its enterprise growing stratospheric platforms that may complement, or compete with, satellites. The corporate has carried out greater than 120 stratospheric flights, working with a wide range of firms and authorities businesses.
“At this time’s announcement represents a significant milestone in World View’s enterprise mannequin,” Ryan Hartman, president and chief government of World View, mentioned within the assertion. “This merger with Leo permits us to scale our demonstrated experience and powerful basis of strategic partnerships to fulfill the rising market demand for knowledge and analytics from the stratosphere.”
World View was based a decade in the past to supply stratospheric vacationer flights, providing views meant to emulate these from house. The corporate later pivoted to uncrewed balloon platforms it referred to as “stratollites” that might carry communications, imaging or analysis payloads for purposes that historically used both satellites or plane.
In October 2021, World View announced it would return to the tourism business, growing a balloon system and pressurized cabin to take as much as 10 individuals to altitudes of about 30 kilometers for flights lasting 6 to 12 hours. The corporate says 1,200 individuals have reserved seats on these flights, with a ticket price of $50,000, though the corporate has not disclosed how a lot income it has collected from these reservations.
World View offered little monetary data as a part of the SPAC announcement. Not like some related offers involving house or space-adjacent firms, there was no convention name to debate the merger, and they didn’t launch an investor presentation with monetary particulars or projections.
Hartman mentioned in October 2021, when the corporate introduced its tourism plans, that the corporate was absolutely funded for the preliminary stage of improvement of the tourism system however didn’t disclose its anticipated price. World View’s final introduced financing earlier than the SPAC deal was a $26.5 million Series C round in 2018.
The SPAC deal comes days after supervisors in Pima County, Arizona, permitted a brand new lease settlement with the corporate for its headquarters. The county constructed the $14 million facility as a part of an financial incentive package deal for the corporate, however a state court docket dominated, in a swimsuit introduced by a 3rd get together, it violated a “reward clause” provision within the state structure.
According to local media, World View stopped paying hire on the ability whereas awaiting a brand new lease and was $400,000 behind in lease funds, however agreed to pay it again within the new lease settlement. As a part of the lease, the corporate agreed to have a minimum of 90 full-time workers working there this 12 months, with a long-term purpose of 125. The unique lease settlement required the corporate to finally make use of 400 individuals there.
