Tishman unlocks key to sweet SPAC deal with Latch

Latch

25/01/2021 15:52

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Anna Szymanski
    NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The real estate
giant is taking the smart-lock maker public through its
blank-check company, whose shares leapt some 70%. Latch gets a
strategic partner and fresh capital to meet pandemic-spurred
demand for modernizing buildings. Investors reap the benefits.
It’s a textbook SPAC.
    Full view will be published shortly.
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/Three_Guineas
         
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    - Latch said on Jan. 25 that it plans to go public by
merging with the blank-check company TS Innovation Acquisitions,
sponsored by property developer Tishman Speyer. The deal will
value the smart-lock and building services technology firm’s
equity at $1.56 billion.
    - Through the transaction, which should close in the second
quarter of 2021, Latch with receive roughly $510 million in
cash, including $190 million from investors such as Chamath
Palihapitiya, BlackRock, D1 Capital Partners and Fidelity
Management & Research.
    - Latch was founded in 2014 and previously partnered with
Alphabet's Google to develop smart thermostats and United Parcel
Services to create smart locks.
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  SZYMANSKI/ 
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    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tishman Speyer-backed SPAC to take smart-lock maker Latch public
in $1.6 bln deal     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2K02P6
Press release     https://www.latch.com/news/latch-announces-planned-merger-with-tishman-speyer-sponsored-spac
Investor presentation     https://www.dropbox.com/s/ngoz7eaa1uehn43/Latch%20Investor%20Presentation.pdf?dl=0
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Editing by Rob Cox and Amanda Gomez)
 ((anna.szymanski@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
anna.szymanski.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))