A Manchester-based connected vehicle data company, which is backed by US giant General Motors, has outlined plans to go public through a reverse merger.
Wejo has made the deal with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp in a move which values the British company at $800m.
The deal is set to raise $330m for Wejo including $230m from special purpose acquisition company Virtuoso and another $100m referred to as Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE).
An extra $25m could also be raised within the next month.
Wejo’s existing shareholders will roll 100% of their existing equity into the combined company and will own approximately 64% of the issued and outstanding shares immediately following closing of the business combination.
The boards of Virtuoso andWejo have each unanimously approved the proposed transaction, which is expected to close during the second half of 2021.
Richard Barlow, chief executive and founder of Wejo, said: "The team at Virtuoso champions our vision to transform connected vehicle data into data for good, and we are proud to establish the market standard for collecting and aggregating that data. Insights developed by our data will make mobility safer, smarter, and more sustainable.
"Driven by our marketplace solutions for customers and SaaS solutions for OEM and Tier 1 partners, we expect rapid growth in revenues over the next several years.
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"The connected vehicle is becoming an increasingly indispensable piece of technology, ever-present and ever-useful in our daily lives, and our innovative platform revolutionizes the way data is collected by plugging directly into the source, which creates unprecedented in-journey insight.
"This transaction will accelerate our growth plans through expansion across geographies and our addressable markets, which are significant.
"We are excited to have found a partner in Virtuoso who understands the potential of our business as we take this step forward in an important and burgeoning market."
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Jeffrey D. Warshaw, chairman and chief executive of Virtuoso Acquisition Corp, added: "Wejo is uniquely positioned to set the industry standard and realize the extraordinary potential in connected vehicle data, and we are confident that Wejo’s innovative platform, strong leadership and proprietary data sets will set the company apart as the market for connected vehicles and their data continues to grow.
"We are excited to partner with Richard and the Wejo team, and we look forward to supporting their transition to becoming a publicly traded company."
Citigroup Global Markets Inc is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Wejo and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as legal counsel.
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Moelis & Company LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Virtuoso and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP is serving as legal counsel.
Moelis & Company LLC is acting as lead placement agent on the PIPE. Cohen & Company Capital Markets (a division of J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC) and The Growth Stage also acted as placement agents on the PIPE.
BTIG, LLC and Moelis & Company LLC acted as joint bookrunners on Virtuoso’s $230mm IPO in January 2021 and are acting as joint capital markets advisors to Virtuoso.