British online car retailer Cazoo goes public after $7bn SPAC merger

Cazoo, a British online car retailer, has wrapped up its previously announced $7 billion merger deal with blank check company Ajax I, and has subsequently started trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The online used car dealer, now operating as Cazoo Group, has its Class A ordinary shares trading under the ticker symbol CZOO and its warrants listed under the ticker CZOO WS.

Established in 2018, Cazoo enables the process of buying or selling a car in the sale lines as ordering any other product on the internet. Using it platform, customers can buy, sell, finance, or subscribe to a car fully online for delivery or collection within 72 hours.

Daniel Och — Founder of AJAX I said: “We are very pleased to close the business combination with Cazoo and to partner with Alex and his outstanding team. By leveraging data and technology, Cazoo is delivering a superior car buying and selling experience in the UK and mainland Europe and building a strong competitive moat.

“With the large and fragmented nature of the market and incredibly low digital penetration, Cazoo has multiple levers to drive its growth and long-term sustainable shareholder value as it transforms the market.”

British online car retailer Cazoo goes public after $7bn SPAC merger. Photo courtesy of khamkhor from Pixabay.

As per the deal announced in March 2021, Cazoo Group will secure more than $1 billion before expenses in proceeds. This capital will help the online car retailer to further expand its brand and infrastructure.

Cazoo Group will continue to be headed by founder and CEO Alex Chesterman.

Alex Chesterman said: “Since we announced the transaction earlier this year, we have continued to see record growth in our revenues and gross profit, have brought our UK vehicle reconditioning in-house, providing full control of our operations and logistics and have started buying and reconditioning cars in mainland Europe ahead of our launch later this year.

“And we have launched a fully integrated all-inclusive monthly car subscription service in the UK as well as our car buying service to source inventory directly from consumers.”