View, the US-based dynamic glass producer backed by corporate investors SoftBank and Corning, agreed yesterday to a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company CF Finance Acquisition Corp II.
The transaction will be boosted by $500m held by CF Finance Acquisition Corp II from its August 2020 initial public offering, and $300m through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) investment from unnamed investors.
The merged business will have an enterprise valuation of $1.6bn and will take CF Finance Acquisition Corp II’s place on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Founded in 2007 as Echromics before rebranding to Soladigm, View produces smart windows utilising dynamic glass that tints darker in sunlight and lighter in more overcast weather, in order to help buildings save energy.
Chairman and CEO Rao Mulpuri, and chief financial officer Vidul Prakash will remain at the company. Mulpuri said: “Climate change and human health are two of the most important challenges and opportunities of our time, and View is well-positioned to use technology to drive change across the real estate industry.”
The move comes after more than $1.8bn in debt and equity financing for View, which had most recently secured $1.1bn from telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund in late 2018.
View closed more than $200m in series G funding at a $1.1bn post-money valuation in 2017, with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock providing $70m to lead the round. TIAA Investments, an affiliate of asset manager Nuveen, and existing investors put up the rest.
Ceramics product maker Corning, the New Zealand government’s NZ Super Fund, Madrone Capital Partners and unnamed others had supplied $150m for the company two years earlier.
Power and industrial equipment producer General Electric (GE) joined Reinet Investments, NanoDimension, DBL Investors, Khosla Ventures, Navitas Capital, Sigma Partners and Westly Group to provide $55m in series D funding for the company in 2012.
GE, which has since divested most of its VC portfolio, had backed a $40m series C round for View that closed in 2011, along with Westly Group, Navitas Capital, DBL Investors and NanoDimension.
Goldman Sachs was financial adviser for View while Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom was legal adviser. Cantor Fitzgerald and Goldman Sachs were placement agents for the PIPE financing.
Cantor Fitzgerald was financial and capital markets adviser for CF II, and it received legal guidance from Hughes Hubbard & Reed and Ellenoff Grossman & Schole.
