'SPACs Attack' Recap: Looking Back At 8 SPAC Deals Plus Latest SPAC Headlines And Earnings

Last week featured eight announced SPAC deals. The week also had earnings from several well-known former SPACs.

Here is a look back at the week that was SPACs for deals and headline news, all covered on Benzinga’s “SPACs Attack.”

SPAC Deals

Quantum encryption company Arqit Limited announced a SPAC merger with Centricus Acquisition Corp CENH. Arqit has an encryption technology called QuantumCloud, billed as making the communications links of any networked device secure against hacking. The SPAC merger will help Arqit accelerate its plan to commercialize products, including two satellite launches in 2023.

Micromobility company Bird announced a SPAC deal with Switchback II Corporation SWBK. Bird launched a shared scooter in 2017 and now operates in more than 200 cities.

Bird has shifted to a fleet manager model, which it says reduces costs and improves profitability.

A Bird Bike is set to be released in the future, expanding the market size for the company.

Bird had revenue of $95 million in fiscal 2020. Guidance calls for revenue of $188 million in revenue for fiscal 2021.

Wynn Interactive, the online gaming division of Wynn Resorts WYNN, announced a SPAC merger with Austerlitz Acquisition Corp I AUS. Wynn Interactive offers casino and sports betting mobile options across the U.S. and U.K. with brands like WynnBet, BetBull and WynnSlots.

The company has live operations in six U.S. states and says it has market access to 15 states covering 51% of the U.S. population.

Wynn is forecasting revenue of $96 million in fiscal 2021 and revenue of $422 million in fiscal 2022. Wynn Resorts will own 58% of the new company.

Homeownership platform Better.com announced a SPAC deal with Aurora Acquisition Corporation AURC. The deal values the company at $6.7 billion.

Better.com offers mortgage, real estate, title and homeowner insurance products.

The company had revenue of $876 million in fiscal 2020. Better.com is forecasting revenue of $1.39 billion in fiscal 2021 and $2.71 billion in fiscal 2022, representing year-over-year growth of 58% and 95%, respectively.

Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp SRNG announced a SPAC merger with Ginkgo Bioworks, valuing the company at $15 billion.

The PIPE on the SPAC includes investments from Baillie Gifford, Cascade Investment (Bill Gates) and Ark Investment Management.

Ginkgo Bioworks is an engineered biology company working on mRNA vaccines, animal-free protein, renewable plastics and other areas.

Much like computer programming impacted every information-based industry, cell programming has the potential to impact every physical goods industry, the company says.

Ginkgo Bioworks partners include Moderna Inc MRNA, Roche, Cargill, Archer-Daniels Midland Co ADM, Bayer, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc TMO, Berkeley Lights Inc BLI and Pacific Biosciences PACB.

Software company AgileThough announced a SPAC merger with LIV Capital Acquisition Corp LIVK. The company offers services to many Fortune 1000 customers across different industries.

The company is estimating fiscal 2021 revenue to hit $184 million, up 13% year-over-year.

Benson Hill, a sustainable food technology company helping plant-based food companies, is going public with Star Peak Corp II STPC. The company uses artificial intelligence for its proprietary CropOS, which uses data science, plant science and food science.

Benson Hill aims to shorten the time to market for plant-based items and create cheaper, better-tasting plant-based foods.

Products for its ingredients business segment include soybeans and yellow peas.

The company is forecasting 2021 revenue of $127 million, up 25% year-over-year.

Plus.ai, an autonomous trucking solutions company, announced a SPAC deal with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp V HCIC valuing the company at $2.47 billion. The company is working on a mass-production, low-cost Level 4 autonomous driving technology for the long-haul trucking sector.

Plus.ai believes it can cut costs and increase margins with its full proprietary, full stack Level 4 software.

Plus.ai plans to launch its autonomous driving solution PlusDrive in 2021 with FAW, a heavy truck manufacturer.

In the U.S., Plus has a partnership with a large, but undisclosed, private truck fleet for 1,000 units.

Plus says it has over 7,800 units preordered from its existing customers.

Headline News

Hyliion Holdings Corp HYLN reported quarterly financial results. The company said it expects to see its first sales happen in the second half of fiscal 2021. The company’s Hypertruck ERX demo units are on track to be showcased before the end of 2021.

Opendoor Technologies Inc OPEN reported first quarter revenue of $747.3 million, beating a street estimate of $620.2 million. The company reported total homes sold in the first quarter were up 190% from the fourth quarter, and total homes purchased of 3,594 in the first quarter, up 78% from the fourth quarter.

Velodyne Lidar Inc VLDR announced first quarter revenue of $17.7 million, beating street consensus of $15.8 million. The company had 29 total active multi-year agreements as of May 1 and is targeting a total of 34 by the end of the fiscal year. The company shipped 2,684 sensor units in the first quarter, making it a market leader.

The company guided for full year revenue in a range of $77 million to $94 million.

CarLotz Inc LOTZ reported first quarter revenue of $56.6 million, up 123% year-over-year. The company had unit sales of 2,554, up 76% year-over-year. The company confirmed its prior full year guidance for revenue and unit sales with estimated revenue of $335 million to $375 million and 18,000 to 20,000 retail units sold.

CarLotz plans to open 14 to 16 hubs for the full fiscal year.

Li-Cycle, which is merging with Peridot Acquisition Corp PDAC, landed an agreement with General Motors Corp GM and LG Chem joint venture Ultium Cells LLC. The deal will see Li-Cycle recycle materials from scrap produced at Ultium’s manufacturing processes starting later in 2021.

Pershing Square Tontine Holdings PSTH shares traded higher on comments made by CEO Bill Ackman. At a conference, Ackman said the SPAC has been working with a company since November and plans to get a deal done in the next few weeks or it will move on to the next one. Ackman called the target an “iconic company.”

Fisker Inc FSR announced details of its joint venture with FoxConn that will be called Project PEAR. The partnership is seeking to bring an electric vehicle to market for under $30,000 for markets including North America, Europe, China and India.

Project PEAR is to start production in the fourth quarter of 2023 and will follow the launch of the Fisker Ocean SUV.

Be sure to tune into "SPACs Attack," Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. EST. Here are the links to the past week’s shows.