Bark, a US-based dog product provider backed by media group Bertelsmann and talent agency CAA, has agreed to a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company Northern Star Acquisition Corp.
The deal will involve the merged business taking the New York Stock Exchange listing Northern Star secured when it floated in a $250m initial public offering last month. It is expected to have an enterprise value of approximately $1.6bn once the transaction closes.
A consortium including financial services and investment group Fidelity, Senator Investment Group, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds and affiliates of holding company Santo Domingo Group are providing $200m in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing in connection with the deal.
Bark’s core business remains BarkBox, a monthly subscription service that provides dog toys and treats, but it has also diversified into durable rubber toys, personalised dog food and canine dental, health and wellness services.
The company raised $1.7m in a 2012 round led by Resolute Ventures and backed by Bertelsmann, Lerer Hippeau (then Lerer Ventures), RRE Ventures, Polaris Partners (then Polaris Ventures) and 500 Startups, before RRE Ventures and BoxGroup added $5m the following year.
Bertelsmann unit Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, CAA subsidiary CAA Ventures, Resolute Ventures, RRE Ventures, BoxGroup, Lerer Hippeau, Slow Ventures, Daher Capital and Vast Ventures supplied $10m in series B funding for Bark in 2014.
Bark subsequently completed a $60m series C round in 2016 that was led by August Capital and which also featured RRE Ventures and Resolute Ventures.
