The Israeli auto-tech industry registers another major merger: Spock merges Industrial Tech Acquisitions

The Israeli auto-tech industry registers another major merger with American Spock ahead of IPO: NASA Robotics, which develops radar for the automotive industry, has signed the US Spock merger agreement Industrial Tech Acquisitions (NASDAQ: ITAC) ahead of IPO At a value of $ 723 million, upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will operate under the name Locust and the share will be listed for trading on NASDAQ under the symbol ARBE.
ARBE, founded in 2015, has developed a high-resolution radar for the vehicle, which presents a 100 times more detailed image than the radars currently on the market. Locust technology solves the failures of vehicle sensors that have caused autonomous vehicle accidents in recent years, and its technology is expected to come into use in cars with partial autonomous capabilities as early as the coming years.
The chipset developed at Barba contains an array with 48 RF reception channels and 48 transmission channels, a dedicated processor chip, alongside an AI-based radar information processing solution. According to Locust, it already has agreements with industry automakers and suppliers that will develop radars based on its technology, which will also be used by autonomous taxis, robots and autonomous delivery vehicles, commercial vehicles, industrial vehicles and more.
Kobi Marenko, CEO of Locust, said in a company statement that “The merger of Locust and Industrial Tech Acquisitions will enable us to realize our vision, of creating an autonomous future using radar technology that will lead to real road safety, while ensuring commercial feasibility. We are very pleased to partner with ITAC, whose significant experience in building and investing in advanced technology companies will help bring our groundbreaking technology to a wider market. "
The merged company will be issued at a value of $ 723 million, and it has already received an investment of $ 100 million from institutional investors, including M&G Investment Management, Varana Capital, Texas Ventures, Eyal Waldman and others. All of Arba's current shareholders will transfer the full holdings of their existing shares to the combined company.
The transaction, unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of Locust and Industrial Tech, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to shareholder approval, and other acceptable closing conditions. Upon completion of the acquisition, Locust will retain its management team, with Mrenko as CEO, Noam Arkind as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Ram Makhanes as Chief Business Officer (CBO), and Danny Klein as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).