Pet care company Wag Labs to go public via $350 million SPAC deal (updated)

Wag! Co

03/02/2022 12:22

(Adds details on deal)
    Feb 3 (Reuters) - Wag Labs Inc, the developer of dog-walking
app Wag!, said on Thursday it plans to go public by merging with
a blank-check firm in a deal valued at $350 million.
    The merger with CHW Acquisition Corp  CHWA.O  will provide
gross cash proceeds of nearly $175 million to the combined
company, which will be majority owned by Wag's shareholders. 
    The combined entity will be named Wag! Group Co and trade on
the Nasdaq under the under the symbol "PET" after the deal
closes, which is expected in the second quarter of this year.
    CHW Acquisition raised https://chwacquisitioncorp.com/chw-acquisition-corporation-announces-closing-of-upsized-125000000-initial-public-offering-including-partial-exercise-of-over-allotment-option
 $125 million in an initial public offering in August and had
decided to target companies in the consumer, health and wellness
or retail sectors.
    SPACs like CHW are listed firms with no business operations
but a pool of capital that they use to merge with a private
company. The deal then takes the private company public.
    Founded in 2015, Wag offers a technology platform that
provides dog walking, pet sitting, veterinary care and training
services in 50 U.S. states. It started accepting Dogecoin
cryptocurrency payments through BitPay in June last year.
    The company had laid off several employees and bought back a
50% stake from SoftBank Corp  9434.T  Vision Fund in 2019, a
year after the Japanese conglomerate agreed to invest $300
million in the startup, according to reports https://www.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-wag-labs-idINKBN1YD26G.
    
    

 (Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya
Soni)
 ((Mehnaz.Yasmin@thomsonreuters.com;))