Business combination provides Innoviz with
approximately $371 million
in gross proceeds comprised of Collective Growth's cash in trust
and a PIPE led by strategic investors, positioning Innoviz
to capitalize on growth catalysts and expand its product
roadmap
TEL AVIV, Israel and
AUSTIN, Texas, April 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Innoviz
Technologies, a technology leader of high-performance,
solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software, and Collective
Growth Corporation (NASDAQ: CGRO) today announced the completion of
their previously announced business combination. The combined
company will retain the Innoviz Technologies, Inc. name, and its
ordinary shares and warrants are expected to commence trading on
Nasdaq under the ticker symbols "INVZ" and "INVZW" on April 6, 2021. The business combination was
approved at a special meeting of Collective Growth's stockholders
held on March 31, 2021.
The successful completion of the business combination will allow
Innoviz Technologies to meet the booming demand of the auto
industry, which has been waiting for the LiDAR technology to
mature. Innoviz is engaged in multiple automotive programs with
multiple partners across the globe, and is growing.
Innoviz is pleased to announce today, after years of development
and rigorous testing, the ramp-up towards high-volume
automotive-grade fully automated production of InnovizOne,
which will serve the BMW series production, among other customers,
and is expected to provide meaningful future revenues. In parallel,
the Company will continue the introduction of the new generation
LiDAR InnovizTwo to the market, which is expected to result in
further significant cost reduction and performance improvements in
order to accelerate the adoption of safe mobility in all types of
cars. Innoviz will continue to collect data and develop new
computer vision features for InnovizAPP – the new Automotive
Perception Platform. With these developments, Innoviz will further
expand the technology gap in the market and strengthen its
leadership position on high-performance, cost effective solid-state
LiDAR sensors and perception software for the autonomous
driving market and others.
"This is a pivotal moment for the Innoviz team and a historic
one for the industry at large," said Omer Keilaf, Co-Founder and
CEO of Innoviz. "Since its founding, Innoviz's engineers have
pushed the boundaries of LiDAR performance, enabling us to bring a
safe, reliable and affordable solution that automakers can adopt at
scale. The growing demand from customers in Europe, the U.S., and the Asia Pacific and our growing backlog attest to
our significant commitment. Becoming a publicly traded company puts
Innoviz on the path to global leadership in the autonomous driving
space worldwide, among others."
Bruce Linton, Chairman and CEO
of Collective Growth Corporation, said, "Innoviz outperforms
its peers by a wide margin when it comes to high-volume LiDAR
production and technological development. We are proud to follow
them on their journey as a publicly traded company."
Transaction Overview
As a result of the Business Combination, Innoviz has received
approximately $371 million in gross
proceeds comprised of Collective Growth's $141 million of cash held in trust following
public stockholder redemptions and $230
million from an ordinary share PIPE, including strategic
investments from Innoviz's Tier 1 partner Magna International,
transaction co-sponsor Antara Capital, the largest investor in the
PIPE, Phoenix Insurance and other institutional investors.
Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial
advisor and placement agent to Innoviz in connection with the
merger. Latham & Watkins LLP and Meitar | Law Offices served as
legal advisors to Innoviz. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Field LLP
and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LP served as legal advisors
to sponsors Antara Capital and Perception Capital, respectively,
and Nechama Brin and Michael Yifrah served as financial advisors to
Perception Capital. Graubard Miller and Goldfarb Seligman & Co. served as legal
advisors to Collective Growth, and Cantor Fitzgerald served as
Financial and Capital Markets Advisor to Collective Growth.
About Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a leading provider of technology that will put
autonomous vehicles on roads, ultimately changing the world and
making life better. Innoviz is the only company with LiDAR
technology that can "see" better than a human driver, while also
meeting the automotive industry's strict requirements for
performance, safety and price. Selected by BMW for its fully
electric iX autonomous car program, Innoviz's technology is
expected to be the first to be deployed in consumer vehicles.
Innoviz is backed by top-tier strategic partners and investors,
including SoftBank Ventures Asia, Samsung, Magna International,
Aptiv, Magma Venture Partners, and others. For more information,
visit www.innoviz.tech.
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including
statements regarding the benefits of the transaction, the services
offered by Innoviz and the markets in which it operates, and
Innoviz's projected future results. These forward-looking
statements generally are identified by the words "believe,"
"project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend,"
"strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should,"
"will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result,"
and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are
predictions, projections and other statements about future events
that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a
result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this announcement, including but not
limited to, the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and
other expectations following the transaction, the ability to
identify and realize additional opportunities, and potential
changes and developments in the highly competitive LiDAR technology
and related industries. The foregoing list of factors is not
exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and
the other risks and uncertainties described in the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus filed with the SEC on March 11, 2021 and other documents filed by
Innoviz from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and
address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual events and results to differ materially from those contained
in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Innoviz assumes
no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. Innoviz gives no assurance that it
will achieve its expectations.
Contact Information:
Media@innoviz-tech.com
Investor Contact:
Maya Lustig
Innoviz Technologies
+972 54 677 8100
Maya.lustig@innoviz-tech.com
Cody Slach or Matt Glover
Gateway Investor Relations
(949) 574-3860
Investors@innoviz-tech.com
Wilson Kello
Collective Growth Corporation
info@collectivegrowthcorp.com
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsPZHcNlcPI