Locust Robotics, which develops high-resolution radar technology, will be issued on NASDAQ
Locust Robotics Ltd., an provider of advanced radar solutions, announced today that it has signed a merger agreement with Industrial Tech Acquisitions, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITAC) a publicly traded special purpose acquisition (SPAC) company.
Upon completion of the acquisition, the combined company will operate under the name Locust and the stock will be listed for trading on NASDAQ under the symbol ARBE.
More from Overdrive >>>
Locust, founded in 2015, already allows for the construction of reliable and safe assistance systems for drivers, while paving the way for fully autonomous driving.
The company is the first in the world to develop a high-resolution radar for the car, which presents a picture 100 times more detailed than that of the radars currently on the market.
Locust technology promises to solve the failures of vehicle sensors that have caused autonomous vehicle accidents in recent years, and provides complete safety for drivers as well as vulnerable users in the vehicle environment, including pedestrians and cyclists.
The chipset developed by Barba contains the largest array of channels in the industry with 48 RF reception channels and 48 transmission channels, a dedicated processor chip, alongside an AI-based radar information processing solution.
The locust solution is ready for mass production, and according to the company works well in the most challenging extreme scenarios and in all environmental conditions.
Automakers and Tier 1 companies are currently developing the next generation of their radars based on locust technology, which also supports a variety of other applications, including autonomous taxis, robots and autonomous delivery vehicles, commercial vehicles, industrial vehicles, and more.
Kobi Marenko, CEO of Locust
, said: “The merger of Locust and
Industrial Tech Acquisitions
will allow us to realize our vision, of creating an autonomous future using radar technology that will lead to real road safety, while ensuring commercial feasibility.
We are very pleased to partner with
ITAC,
whose significant experience in building and investing in advanced technology companies will help bring our groundbreaking technology to a wider market
. ”
The subsidiary will have a pro forma capital value of approximately $ 573 million and a company value of approximately $ 723 million at closing.
Assuming no redemptions are made by Industrial Tech shareholders, the transaction is expected to yield gross returns of up to $ 176 million, including a total of up to $ 76 million in cash held in Industrial Tech's trust account.
The deal is also supported by a $ 100 million PIPE investment anchored by institutional investors including M&G Investment Management, Varana Capital, Texas Ventures, Eyal Waldman and other investors whose names will be announced later.
All of Arba's current shareholders will transfer the full holdings of their existing shares to the combined company.
The transaction, unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of Locust and Industrial Tech, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to shareholder approval, and other acceptable closing conditions.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Locust will retain its experienced management team, with Kobi Mrenko as CEO, Noam Arkind as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Ram Makhanes as Chief Business Officer (CBO), and Danny Klein as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).