Why Parking Company SP Plus' Shares Are Skyrocketing Today?

SP Plus Corporation NASDAQ: SP) shares are trading higher Thursday morning as it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Metropolis Technologies, Inc. for $54.00 per share in cash.

The enterprise value of the acquisition totaled approximately $1.5 billion. The deal represents a premium of approximately 52% to SP's closing stock price on October 4, 2023.

Metropolis develops and deploys computer vision technology that creates a "drive in and drive out" payment experience for consumers.

SP has over 20,000 team members who manage about two million parking spaces and provide services at over 3,300 commercial locations and over 160 airports. The deal will help Metropolis bring new capabilities to North America's leading network with operations in over 360 cities.

"SP+ is a phenomenal business whose operational excellence, talented leadership team and high customer satisfaction levels have long made it a key partner to real estate owners across North America," said Alex Israel, Co-founder and CEO of Metropolis.

"While transforming the parking experience is our focus and priority today, as we deploy our proven technology we see opportunity to offer checkout-free transaction experiences at even more places people go."

Metropolis has obtained commitments for equity and debt financing totaling $1.7 billion to complete the transaction, consisting of $1.05 billion in Series C preferred stock financing and $650 million of debt financing.

The transaction is expected to close in 2024.

Price Action: SP shares are trading higher by 46.99% at $52.05 on the last check Thursday.