Waiting for SPACs to Getaround to closing deals

DDC is a private company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 2012, which started its business in Hong Kong and expanded its business to Shanghai, PRC in 2015, whereupon it registered by the way of continuation in the Cayman Islands in the same year. DDC and its subsidiaries, i.e. the Group, is a digital publisher and merchandiser for Asian cooking based in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The Group mainly runs the leading content-driven lifestyle brand, DayDayCook for young food lovers, who are seeking quality food and convenience from ready-to-heat (RTH), ready-to-cook (RTC) and plant-based food products. Omni-channel approach is adopted by the Group to promote and sell their products, including online, offline and social commerce channels. The Group also continuously builds brand recognition and fan base through online video contents, such as recipe video, product evaluation, live streaming and advertising videos.

Getaround, a car-sharing startup backed by SoftBank Group Corp, is in talks to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Altitude Acquisition Corp (ALTU: $9.83), people familiar with the matter said.

The company has confidentially sought investors to participate in the deal through a private placement in public equity, or PIPE, at a valuation of around $1.7 billion, one of the sources said.

The sources cautioned that terms could change and said there was no certainty of a deal. They asked not to be identified because the negotiations are not public.

Altitude Acquisition Corp declined to comment. Getaround did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Getaround operates a peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace that allows vehicle owners to rent out their cars on an hourly or daily basis. It operates in over 100 U.S. cities and more than 170 European locations, with 6 million users globally. One of its major competitors, Turo Inc, registered for an initial public offering this month.

Getaround has raised more than $800 million in previous fundraising rounds from investors including Softbank and Menlo Ventures, and was last at more than $1 billion in September 2020, according to PitchBook data.

Like many other travel businesses, Getaround suffered when the COVID-19 pandemic spread last year. It saw customer demand drop by as much as 75%. Its business has recovered as pandemic restrictions eased and travel resumed.

Serial Israeli entrepreneur Benny Landa is in the process of merging his digital printing company with a Nasdaq-traded SPAC, Calcalist has learned. Landa Digital Printing (LDP) has hired Bank of America to lead the move. Landa is targeting a $2 billion valuation, 20 times the company's annual revenue of around $50 million. The negotiations regarding the merger already began 2-3 months ago.

LDP has raised $700 million over two funding rounds to date. The company raised $300 million at a $1.8 billion valuation in its most recent round in June 2018. That round was led by investment company SKion and the Altana chemicals company.

LDP, which was spun out of Landa Labs a decade ago and currently employs approximately 550 people, named Arik Gordon as its new CEO in June. Gordon joined LDP after 18 years at Orbotech. In the past two years, he served as Executive VP of Strategy and Growth at Orbotech. He held several executive management positions in the company’s operations in Asia Pacific, and upon returning to Israel in 2013, was appointed President of Orbotech's PCB (Printed Circuit Board) division.

Landa is the majority shareholder of LDP with a 54% stake, with Altana holding a 33.3% share and SKion the remaining 12.7%.