Data intelligence firm Near has agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check vehicle in a deal valuing it at about $1 billion, the companies said on Thursday.
The deal with KludeIn I Acquisition Corp will fetch $268 million in gross proceeds for Near, including a private placement of $95 million. The company also said it has secured a $100 million committed equity financing from CF Principal Investments, an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald. Once Wall Street's hottest ticket, SPACs have also seen souring sentiment due to market volatility and poor stock performance of companies that merged with them. The De-SPAC Index, which tracks some of these companies, is down over 50 per cent so far this year.
The chief executive added he was not too concerned about the impact of waning enthusiasm for SPACs, because Near is a revenue-generating business"that we have built over a decade", and has also won the backing of investors like Sequoia and JPMorgan.