The British automobile data startup Wejo Ltd, backed by General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is in talks to go public with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:VOSO) through a SPAC merger, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
- The blank-check company Virtuoso is looking to raise new equity to support the transaction with a value of more than $1 billion.
- According to sources, the deal has not closed yet, and the terms may change.
- Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) funding is crucial to complete acquisition by SPAC.
- Wejo, a connected-vehicle data specialist, was founded in 2014 and led by Chief Executive Officer Richard Barlow.
- In January, Virtuoso raised $230 million in an initial public offering.
- In February, Wejo’s Israeli rival Otonomo said it would go public through a merger with a SPAC, Software Acquisition Group Inc II, at a valuation of $1.4 billion.
- Apart from GM, Wejo’s investors include Hella Ventures, Platina Partners, DIP Capital and the U.K. government’s Future Fund. Wejo has raised $157 million from these investors.
- SPACs are shell companies that raise funds to acquire a private company and then take it public.
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