Cannabis Marketing Platform Springbig Will Go Public Through a SPAC
Cannabis Marketing Platform Springbig Will Go Public Through a SPAC
(Bloomberg) -- Springbig, a provider of marketing software to cannabis retailers, has agreed to go public through a merger with Tuatara Capital Acquisition Corp., a blank-check firm.
The transaction, which if completed will result in Springbig being listed on the Nasdaq, is expected to value the combined company at about $500 million, Springbig and Tuatara said in a joint statement. The transaction features a $13 million so-called private investment in public equity, or PIPE, anchored by Tuatara Capital as well as Springbig’s backers including TVC Capital and Key Investment Partners.
“There’s a tremendous opportunity for consolidation particularly on the tech side of the industry, and we feel we can be a consolidator,” Springbig founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Harris said in a phone interview. The cannabis industry has a “plethora of interesting tech,” much of which has not yet been deployed at a large scale, Harris said.
Springbig expects to end 2021 with $24 million revenue and grow that figure at a rate of 60% or more through 2024, he said.
Boca Raton, Florida-based Springbig makes software which arms cannabis retailers and brands with loyalty and engagement tools such as the ability to provide rewards and coupons to dispensary customers via cell-phone messages, its website shows.
The transaction marks a meaningful valuation jump for the company, which was last valued at $93.1 million as of August 2020, PitchBook data shows. The Tuatara SPAC, led by CEO Al Foreman, raised $200 million in a February IPO.
Cannabis companies have been consolidating. There are many small players due to the state-by-state nature of legalization, and shares of publicly traded companies have flagged this year as hoped-for political reforms haven’t made headway.
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