NextNav LLC said Thursday it will combine with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, to go public in a deal that values the McLean geolocation technology company at $1.2 billion.
Proceeds from the combination deal with Duluth, Georgia-based Spartacus Acquisition Corp. — estimated at $408 million — will be used to fuel growth, the company said. NextNav specializes in 3D geolocation technology that provides precise floor-level positioning, something it says is more accurate than anything currently on the market. Its customers include those in the sectors of public safety, consumer apps, autonomous vehicles and critical infrastructure, among others.
The company will be renamed NextNav Inc. at the deal’s close in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter. It will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticket “NN.” The company also keeps a West Coast office in Sunnyvale, California.
Launched by XM Satellite Radio founder Gary Parsons in 2007, the company has raised more than $278 million since its founding in 2007, according to TechCrunch. Parsons is currently board chairman of NextNav and will stay in that role after the deal. Peter Aquino, chairman and CEO of Spartacus and the former CEO of McLean telecom Primus Telecommunications Group Inc., will join the NextNav board.
The company will continue to be led by CEO and co-founder Ganesh Pattabiraman, and it said it will retain the rest of its current management team.
NextNav said the $408 million in deal proceeds come from roughly $203 million in cash from Spartacus and $205 million in private investment, or PIPE round, from a series of new investors, including Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of the Koch Investments Group, as well as Fortress Investment Group LLC, Ophir Asset Management, Woody Creek Capital Management, Quantlab Disruptive Technologies and Iridian Asset Management LLC.
NextNav equity investors will roll 100% of their existing equity holdings into the combined company.
Save the date
Sept. 9 — The date by which D.C. drivers with expired licenses will now have to get them renewed, an extension of a previous July 1 deadline, according to DCist. The District made the change after hearing many complaints from people who are unable to get appointments at the Department of Motor Vehicles before the previous deadline.
Odds and ends
- Amazon.com Inc. has signed multiple companies up for Amazon Care, the telehealth service it is expanding beyond its own workforce. (Wall Street Journal)
- A Texas man pleaded guilty Wednesday to plotting to blow up an Amazon data center in Ashburn. (Associated Press)
- The Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History on the National Mall will reopen June 18 after being closed for 15 months because of the pandemic. Timed-entry passes are required, and those over the age of 2 must wear masks. (WTOP)
- The National Park Service is planning a handful of infrastructure improvements around the National Mall to improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety. (WTOP)
- Selfie WRLD, a storefront studio that allows people to pay to take selfies in front of a range of backgrounds, has opened in Tysons. (Washingtonian)
- Facebook is laying out its return-to-office plans, including more eligibility for remote work for all employees. (Wall Street Journal)
