Ouster, a US-based lidar sensor provider backed by media and automotive services conglomerate Cox Enterprises and power producer Exelon, has agreed a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company Colonnade Acquisition Corp.
The merged business will hold a diluted pro forma equity value of about $1.9bn and will take the New York Stock Exchange listing Colonnade secured in its $200m initial public offering in August this year.
Cox Enterprises is joining fellow Ouster investors Fontinalis Partners and WWJr Enterprises to provide $100m in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing in conjunction with the deal.
Founded in 2015, Ouster has built high-resolution digital lidar sensors for use in areas such as autonomous vehicles, robotics systems, industrial automation and smart infrastructure. It had previously raised a total of $140m in funding.
The company emerged from stealth in 2017 with $27m from a Cox Enterprises-led series A round that included Exelon subsidiary Constellation Technology Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Tao Capital Partners, Carthona Capital and Amity Ventures.
Runway Growth Capital led a $60m round for Ouster in March 2019 that also featured Cox Enterprises, Constellation Technology Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Carthona Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.
Cox Enterprises, Fontinalis Partners and Tao Capital Partners subsequently supplied $42m for the company in a September 2020 series C round.
