Digital intelligence co Cellebrite completes SPAC merger
The Israeli company, which provides digital intelligence
solutions to law enforcement agencies and governments, will begin trading on
Nasdaq tomorrow.
Israeli digital intelligence company Cellebrite and TWC Tech
Holdings II Corp. (Nasdaq: TWCT) today announced the completion of their SPAC
merger. The Petah Tikva-based company, which provides digital intelligence
solutions to law enforcement agencies and governments, will begin trading on
Nasdaq tomorrow under the CLBT ticker. Under the terms of the agreement signed
in April, Cellebrite will have a company valuation of $2.4 billion.
The transaction generated $370 million of gross proceeds
from the cash held in trust after TWC Tech Holdings stockholder redemptions and
the private investment in public equity (PIPE) for the purchase of shares from
existing shareholders of Cellebrite who are primarily from early investors in
the company. Leading institutional investors, including Light Street Capital
and Makena Capital, and strategic investor Axon Enterprise, Inc., participated
in the PIPE,
Cellebrite was founded in 2001 by Yaron Baratz, Yuval Aflalo
and Avi Yablonka and is managed by CEO Yossi Carmil. In 2007, Japan's Sun Corp.
acquired Cellebrite for just $17 million. Carmill has told "Globes"
in the past why the company was sold for such a small amount. "The main
shareholders, the three founders, wanted to sell. We were sold very cheaply for
a company which had grown without raising any external capital. We are a rare
story."
In 2019, Israel Growth Partners (IGP) led a $110 million in
Cellebrite at a company valuation of $440 million, which was in fact the
company's first-ever financing round. As part of the SPAC merger, IGP's Haim
Shani will become Cellebrite's chairman Ryusuke Utsumi will step down but
remain on the board.
BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as
placement agents to Cellebrite, and TWC Tech Holdings. BofA Securities is also
serving as capital markets advisor to TWC Tech Holdings. White & Case LLP
and Meitar Law Offices are serving as legal advisors to Cellebrite, while
Herzog Fox Neeman will support the SPAC.
Carmil said, "We have achieved an important milestone
that advances our strategy to drive value to the investigative lifecycle. We
are energized by the significant opportunities to build on our industry-leading
position, expand our capabilities and continue to deliver valuable solutions to
our broad and growing customer base. I would like to thank True Wind Capital
for their support and partnership throughout this process. As a publicly traded
company, we believe we are well positioned to help to create a safer world with
our Digital Intelligence solutions suite, through the ethical use of our
solutions, and to deliver sustainable value for all of our stakeholders."
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