Footprint Said to Agree to Gores SPAC Merger as Koch Invests

• Company set to trade on Nasdaq bourse under ‘FOOT’ ticker
• Combined entity set to have enterprise value of $1.6 billion

Footprint packaging Source: Footprint

Footprint Inc., a materials science technology company seeking to eliminate single-use plastic, has agreed to merge with Gores Holdings VIII Inc., a special purpose acquisition company led by billionaire Alec Gores, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The transaction, slated to be announced Tuesday in the U.S., features a roughly $310 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE, and gives the combined company an enterprise value of $1.6 billion assuming no redemptions, said the people, requesting anonymity. The PIPE, priced at $10 a share, was backed by Koch Strategic Platforms among others and Koch separately committed to provide $150 million in preferred financing, the people said.

Gilbert, Arizona-based Footprint’s customers include Kraft Heinz Co., McDonald’s Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. Increased government regulation, heightened corporate sustainability efforts and changing societal preferences have been a boost to its business, with many consumer-packaged-goods companies seeking alternatives to single-use plastic.

Footprint’s investors, including Sweetgreen Inc., Conagra Brands Inc. and JBS, will roll 100% of their equity into the new entity, the people said. It has committed customer orders resulting in estimated 2023 revenue of roughly $500 million, 10 times what Footprint is poised to turnover in 2021, the people said.

The new entity will be led by Footprint co-founder and CEO Troy Swope and be listed with the ticker ‘FOOT’ on Nasdaq.

Bloomberg News in August reported Footprint was in talks to go public through a deal with a Gores SPAC at a valuation of as much as $3 billion. The transaction was recalibrated in recent months, in part due to feedback from SPAC investors, the people said.

Gores Holdings VIII, led by Gores and CEO Mark Stone, raised $345 million in a February IPO. Other Gores SPACs have merged to form companies including Ardagh Metal Packaging SA and Matterport Inc..