De-SPACs Ouster and Velodyne Complete Merger

Lidar-maker Ouster (NYSE: OUST) and autonomous vehicle technology company Velodyne Lidar (NASDAQ: VLDR) announced this morning that the two de-SPACs have successfully completed their merger.

The lidar duo initially announced their all-share merger transaction just a few months ago in November, taking a step up to further consolidation in the autonomous vehicle technology sector. The deal will give the combined company a market capitalization of approximately $400 million.

As of December 31, Ouster and Velodyne had a combined cash balance of about $315 million and are now aiming to realize annualized cost savings of at least $75 million within the next nine months.

Velodyne shares stopped trading on the Nasdaq after market close on Friday, February 10 and each share was exchanged for 0.8204 shares of Ouster common stock. The combined company will keep the name Ouster and continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “OUST”.

Velodyne initially kicked off the lidar SPAC craze when it announced its definitive agreement to combine with Graf Industrial in July 2020 and completed the $1.6 billion deal in September 2020. Since then, nine other lidar SPAC deals have followed suit and have been completed, including Ouster’s $1.57 billion combination with Colonnade Acquisition Corp., which closed in March 2021.

Both companies have been hit hard within the past year as shares of Velodyne dropped by 68% and Ouster fell by approximately 50%. But, the combined company hopes this merger will accelerate lidar adoption and create a lidar powerhouse with over 850 customers spanning the automotive, industrial, robotics, and smart infrastructure industries.

Ouster will provide an update on its integration plans and additional synergies across the business on its fourth quarter 2022 earnings call after the market closes on Thursday, March 23.