Wejo Limited, a Manchester-based connected vehicle data provider, will merge with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp., a US-based special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that values the former at $800 million.

The pro forma equity value of the British auto data startup is estimated at $1.1 billion.

Upon closing of the deal, the combined firm will retain the Wejo name and is expected to become a publicly listed company in the US.

Wejo said that the merger will support its idea of building the manufacturer-agnostic industry standard in connected vehicle data, helping it develop applications across various marketplaces.

The company gives the capability to connect directly to integrated vehicle manufacturer sensors to enable live insight and analytics for customers and auto manufacturer partners.

Currently, the auto data startup gathers 14.6 billion data points in near-real-time and scrutinizes 66 million journeys across a network of 10.7 million live vehicles from a supply base of more than 50 million connected vehicles.

By the end of 2030, Wejo anticipates its connected vehicle network to considerably grow with almost half of all vehicles across the world likely to be connected vehicles.

Richard Barlow – CEO and Founder of Wejo said: “The team at Virtuoso champions our vision to transform connected vehicle data into data for good, and we are proud to establish the market standard for collecting and aggregating that data. Insights developed by our data will make mobility safer, smarter, and more sustainable.

“Driven by our marketplace solutions for customers and SaaS solutions for OEM and Tier 1 partners, we expect rapid growth in revenues over the next several years.”

Following the merger, Wejo’s existing shareholders will have a stake of around 64% in the combined firm, should there be no redemptions by the public stockholders of Virtuoso Acquisition Corp.

The deal is likely to enable the combined firm to get around $330 million of gross proceeds through the SPAC’s $230 million cash held in trust and a private investment in public equity (PIPE) of $100 million.

The PIPE investors are Palantir Technologies, General Motors, and other strategic investors.

Wejo plans to use the cash proceeds from the merger to fully fund its five-year plan and place itself to expedite OEM onboarding, continued launch of new offerings and services for connected vehicle customers and further growth into new regions and in-demand marketplaces.

Jeffrey D. Warshaw – Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso Acquisition Corp. said: “Wejo is uniquely positioned to set the industry standard and realize the extraordinary potential in connected vehicle data, and we are confident that Wejo’s innovative platform, strong leadership and proprietary data sets will set the company apart as the market for connected vehicles and their data continues to grow.

“We are excited to partner with Richard and the Wejo team, and we look forward to supporting their transition to becoming a publicly traded company.”

The deal, which is subject to the SPAC’s shareholder approval and customary closing conditions, is expected to be wrapped up during the latter half of this year.

  connected vehicles, Jeffrey D. Warshaw, Manchester, Richard Barlow, United Kingdom, Virtuoso Acquisition Corp, Wejo Limited