Gorilla Technology Group, a Taipei-based developer of edge artificial intelligence (AI) for security and other applications, has agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed black cheque firm Global SPAC Partners in a deal that values the business at about $708 million.
The combined company is expected to be publicly listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “GRRR” following the completion of the deal that could come by the end of Q1 2022, said Global SPAC Partners in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal, which gives Gorilla a pro forma enterprise valuation of about $708 million, will provide the firm with gross proceeds of up to $169 million from cash held in Global’s trust account. The transaction is still subject to customary closing conditions including shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Global SPAC Partners, led by Bahrain-based asset management firm ASMA Capital, is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that offers a backdoor to the uncertainty of the traditional initial public offering (IPO) route by raising capital from investors first before merging with a pre-existing private firm to take it public.
The SPAC closed its IPO in April after offering 16 million units at a price of $10 each, raising gross proceeds of $160 million.
“This step of Gorilla listing on Nasdaq is well timed as the company is now ready to expand outside of its Southeast Asian base,” said Tomoyuki Nii, chairman of Gorilla and executive officer at SBI Group, in the statement.
Backed by investors such as Japan’s SBI Group, enterprise software firm Asteria, and Australian venture capital (VC) firm Telstra Ventures, Gorilla mainly develops video intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, and cybersecurity. It specialises in video analytics, network security, and big data to support solutions for commercial, industrial, cities, and government purposes.
Established in 2001, the firm has introduced machine learning and deep learning video analysis algorithms that can identify, analyse, and extract information from digital content to drive business decisions across the fields of healthcare, transportation hubs, manufacturing, and retail.
Gorilla now has eight pending patent applications and 24 granted patents within the US, Europe, Japan, mainland China, and Taiwan. It in September formed a partnership with SoftBank Group’s multi-use AI analytics platform STAION to help the Japanese conglomerate’s unit develop integrated edge AI video analytics software.
The planned merger will help Gorilla “continue that growth into Asia and beyond” and “cement our position in the global arena,” said Nii. He said that the business “will remain agile while the world continues going through challenging times.”
Before the deal, Gorilla’s latest private funding round was a $15-million Series D round from SBI Group in December 2018. It was the Japanese financial services firm’s first investment in a Taiwanese AI firm.