Gores SPAC to take lodging startup Sonder public in $2.2 bln deal (updated)

Sonder Holdings

30/04/2021 11:21

(Adds details, background)
    April 30 (Reuters) - Lodging startup Sonder Holdings Inc
said on Friday it has agreed to go public through a merger with
a blank-check firm backed by billionaire investors Alec Gores
and Dean Metropoulos, in a deal valuing the combined company at
around $2.2 billion. 
    The deal with Gores Metropoulos II  GMII.O  will be financed
with a private placement of $200 million from investors
including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, funds and
accounts managed by BlackRock Inc  BLK.N  and Senator Investment
Group. Cash proceeds are expected to be about $650 million.
    San Francisco-based Sonder leases buildings, refurbishes
them and lists them on its website. The company was launched in
2014 and is led by co-founder Francis Davidson, who
conceptualized the idea while managing a few apartments for
short-term stays as a university student in Montreal.
    Gores Metropoulos II, a special purpose acquisition company
(SPAC) raised $450 million through an initial public offering in
January. 
    A former SPAC by Gores and Metropoulos took lidar sensor
maker Luminar Technologies Inc  LAZR.O  public through a nearly
$2.9 billion merger in August last year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FQ2K4
    SPACs are shell companies that raise funds to take a private
company public through a merger at a later date, allowing such
private companies to sidestep the hassles and scrutiny
associated with a traditional IPO.
    Goldman Sachs is acting as the financial advisor to Sonder,
while Morgan Stanley is the lead financial advisor to Gores
Metropoulos. 

 (Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M.)
 ((sohini.podder@thomsonreuters.com;))