Matterport, a spatial data firm and the real estate industry’s top progenitor of 3D tours, is set to go public via a merger with Gores Holdings VI, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Gore Group, a global asset management firm.
RJ Pittman | Photo credit: Matterport
The merger will give the combined company — which will be listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol “MTTR” — an enterprise value of approximately $2.3 billion and a total equity value of $2.9 billion.
“We believe the proposed transaction with Gores Holdings VI unlocks the potential of our platform and accelerates our mission to make every building and every space more valuable and accessible,” Matterport CEO RJ Pittman, said in a statement.
The company says it has more than 10 billion square feet of space in its spatial data library, which it says is the largest in the world and growing. The company also said it has digitized millions of buildings in more than 150 countries.
Matterport, which was founded in 2011, has only seen demand for 3D tours explode during the COVID-19 pandemic, as in-person tours and open houses have become rarer and more controlled. The company reported a 500 percent growth in its subscriber base in 2020.
“Our pioneering technology has defined the category and set the standard for digitizing the largest asset class in the world,” Pittman said. “Our deep industry experience and proven track record have made Matterport the platform of choice to digitize millions of buildings across diverse industries and markets.”
“Building on this momentum, we are scaling all aspects of our business to transform the $230 trillion built world.”
The merger and subsequent public debut is expected to provide Matterport with $640 million in capital with $345 million in cash coming from Gores Holdings VI and $295 million in fully committed common stock purchases at $10 per share from investors including Tiger Global Management, LLC, Senator Investment Group, Dragoneer Investment Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Miller Value Partners and Lux Capital.
Gores Holdings VI is the seventh SPAC vehicle affiliated with The Gores Group, a nearly 35-year-old global investment company. To date, the company has completed five other SPAC mergers, including one with United Wholesale Mortgage.
“This marks our second business combination with a game-changing technology company, solidifying Gores’ investment strategy around identifying and partnering with disruptive, category-defining companies with impressive track records, tremendous growth potential and strong leadership teams,” Mark Stone, senior managing director of The Gores Group and CEO of Gores Holdings VI, said in a statement. “Matterport represents all of those attributes and more.”
The merger announcement also gave some insight into financials associated with Matterport, although the full picture likely won’t be available until the company’s S-1 document is filed.
In 2020, Matterport expects it will have generated $86 million in revenue, up from $46 million the year prior. The company projects steady year-over-year revenue growth reaching $747 million in 2025.
The company believes there’s a large total addressive market of more than $1.2 trillion for the digitization of spaces, with less than one percent of space currently digitized and Matterport leading the way. One of Matterport’s top rivals in the space, GeoCV, shut down nearly two years ago after a patent infringement dispute between the two firms.
Matterport is the latest firm to use a SPAC to make its public debut, in favor of the more traditional initial public offering route. Real estate technology company Opendoor also went public via a merger with a SPAC in late 2020.
