Velodyne Lidar have raised USD $150m in a reverse takeover and will be combining with Graf Industrial to go public in the third quarter of this year. It is expected that Velodyne will be listed on the NYSE under the symbol of VLDR.
Pursuant to the business combination, Graf will acquire Velodyne through a reverse merger in which Velodyne is ascribed an enterprise value of approximately $1.6bn and equity value of around $1.8bn. Following the transaction and its expenses, Velodyne are expected to add about $190m cash to their balance sheet; up to $50m total cash consideration will be paid to existing Velodyne shareholders.
Current Velodyne shareholders, including David Hall and strategic investors Ford, Baidu, Nikon, and Hyundai Mobis, will retain an equity interest of more than 80% in the combined company.
“Partnering with Graf Industrial will provide the opportunity to enhance our leading position in the lidar and sensor markets broadly around the world, creating new and exciting opportunities for our customers and employees,” said Velodyne’s CEO Anand Gopalan.