The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: August 2, 2023
Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: QEV Technologies to list in Amsterdam through merger with SPEAR Investments I, Alteration Earth discusses SPAC deal with Verdant Earth, and Planet CEO blames himself for 10% staff cut
Spanish electric vehicle company to list in Amsterdam with Spac deal
A Spanish electric vehicle maker specializing in racing cars is to list in Amsterdam through a merger with SPEAR Investments I (AMS:SPR1), testing investor appetite into a market that has all but collapsed. The decade-old QEV Technologies, which is set to be valued at more than €200mn, comes to a once red-hot EV Spac market which has been hit by a series of high profile failures and frauds.
Lordstown Motors (OTCMKTS:RIDEQ) filed for bankruptcy protection in June, while Arrival (NASDAQ:ARVL) and Canoo (NASDAQ: GOEV) have issued “going concern” warnings that they expect to run out of funds within a year.
Verdant Earth Technologies discusses SPAC deal worth GBP 125m
Australian biomass technologies firm Verdant Earth Technologies Limited is working on a GBP-125-million (USD 160.6m/EUR 145.7m) deal to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Alteration Earth PLC (LON:ALTE).
Alteration Earth announced today that it signed a non-binding agreement to acquire Verdant in an all-stock transaction that hinges on the completion of due diligence and regulatory clearances, among other conditions. The parties target completion of the transaction by the end of the year.
READPlanet CEO blames himself for 10% staff cut, 85 San Francisco layoffs
Planet (NYSE:PL), a San Francisco-based satellite imagery company that merged with dMY Technology Group IV, is laying off 117 employees — 10% of its workforce — as it burns through its once-massive coffers.
The job cuts, announced Tuesday in an SEC filing and a note to employees from CEO William Marshall, hit every division in Planet’s global workforce. Marshall said in his note that laid-off employees will get at least 14 weeks of severance pay, plus cash for health care, immigration support and career counseling.
“At the outset, I want to be clear that I am responsible for the decisions that led us here,” Marshall wrote. “I know this has significant effects on the lives of our team and their families, and for that I am sorry.”
GigCapital5 and QT Imaging Secure Non-Binding $50M Equity Facility From Yorkville Advisors Global
GigCapital5 (NYSE:GIA) and merger partner QT Imaging entered into a non-binding term sheet with Yorkville Advisors Global for an equity facility, according to an 8-K filing. Yorkville would commit to purchase up to $50 million in QT Imaging stock, which may be sold by QT with written notice to Yorkville over a 36-month period. The shares would be purchased at 97% of the market price.
At deal announcement in December, QT Imaging was to receive approximately $41 million in gross proceeds from GigCapital5’s trust account, assuming no redemptions by GigCapital5’s stockholders, and up to $26 million in additional financing.
READFirst Patient Enrolled in LEOPARD, an Investigator-Initiated Trial, with OCS-01 Eye Drops for the Treatment of Cystoid Macular Edema
Oculis Holding AG (Nasdaq: OCS) (“Oculis”), a global biopharmaceutical company purposefully driven to save sight and improve eye care, announces that the first patient has been enrolled in the investigator-initiated LEOPARD trial evaluating the potential of OCS-01 eye drops, Oculis’ novel high concentration preservative-free topical OPTIREACH formulation of dexamethasone, for the treatment of cystoid macular edema (CME).
Oculis completed its business combination with European Biotech in February.
READ