Phunware, an Austin-based mobile app management and analytics company, has agreed to merge with Athens, Greece-based Stellar Acquisition III, Inc.
The deal values Phunware, which was founded in 2009, at $301 million.
The combined company will take on Phunware's name and is expected to trade on the Nasdaq market under the ticker name "PHUN." The company will continue to be led by Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski, and Matthew Aune will continue on as Phunware's CFO.
While the company will stay in Austin, the merged companies will redomesticate from the Marshall Islands, where Stellar was formed, to Delaware.
Phunware had raised about $84 million from a broad group of investors that includes Austin's Central Texas Angel Network and Wild Basin Investments, as well as larger investors like Khazanah Nasional, Wavemaker Partners, PLDT and Samsung Ventures.
In addition, Phunware announced plans to issue cryptocurrency tokens called PhunCoins later this year. A federal filing indicates the token generation event is expected to generate $10 million to $100 million.
“Our stated goal has always been to reach every connected device on Earth through mobile applications, and this transaction turbocharges our ability to achieve that vision," Knitowski said in a news release. "With a current reach to over one in ten devices worldwide, our platform is a formidable foundation to build upon. Merging with Stellar will enable us to scale that foundation through organic and inorganic growth, including the PhunCoin Token Generation Event. We are extremely proud of this important milestone and are excited for the future.”
The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018. A clause in the acquisition agreement says that Phunware would have to pay up to $12 million if the agreement is terminated.
