LEXINGTON, Ky. — Rubicon, an innovative software platform that provides smart waste and recycling solutions for businesses and government, and Founder SPAC, a special purpose acquisition company, today announced a deal that make Rubicon a publicly listed company.
The business combination values Rubicon at an implied $1.7 billion pro forma enterprise value, at a price of $10.00 per share, assuming no redemptions by Founder SPAC shareholders. The boards of directors of Founder SPAC and Rubicon have approved the proposed transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022. It is subject to approval by Founder SPAC’s stockholders and other customary closing conditions.
The transaction will result in gross proceeds of $432 million to Rubicon (assuming no redemptions and prior to the payment of transaction expenses), including a $111 million fully committed PIPE, anchored by Palantir Technologies, the New Zealand Super Fund, and Rodina Capital.
Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Rubicon Technologies Inc. be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “RBT.” The company will continue to be based in Lexington and led by Nate Morris, founder and CEO of certified B-Corporation Rubicon, and other key executive leadership.
“Historically, waste has been an overlooked issue,” Morris said, “but in Rubicon we have built a different kind of company,one that has sought to address the entrenched shortcomings of the industry and bring the issue of waste into the public consciousness. As a Lexington, Ky.-based company, our proven track record of environmental innovation shows that transformational ideas can come from anywhere, and demonstrates the power of forward-thinking businesses to drive positive change in our world.
Founded in 2008, Rubicon is the world’s largest digital marketplace for waste and recycling, and a global leader in providing cloud-based waste and recycling solutions to businesses and governments. As the digital challenger to status quo waste companies, the company has developed and commercialized proven, cutting-edge software that brings transparency and environmental innovation to the waste and recycling industry, enabling customers to make data-driven decisions that lead to more efficient and effective operations and yields more sustainable outcomes.
Using proprietary technology in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision, and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), for which the company has secured more than 50 U.S. and international patents, Rubicon has built the world’s leading technology platform aimed at modernizing the centuries-old $2.1 trillion global waste and recycling industry.
Rubicon’s long-term recurring revenue streams, low customer churn rate, triple-digit net revenue retention rate, and impressive growth trajectory since inception distinguish the company as the global leader in optimizing the waste and recycling industry. Annual revenues are expected to exceed $577 million in 2021 and validate the inherent value of Rubicon’s solutions, which has a roster of blue-chip customers including Apple, Walmart, Starbucks, Chipotle, and FedEx, as well as city governments including Kansas City, Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio.
“This transaction reflects a transformative step in our company’s long, successful track record. While the waste and recycling category is highly resilient, it is ripe for improvements in efficiency and sustainability, and the successful execution of our growth strategy will help propel the industry into the current age of digitization while facilitating the broader sustainability goals of customers and communities around the world. In doing so, we are creating a new standard for the waste and recycling category.”
SPAC Founder/CEO Osman Ahmed said, “Our main thesis with Founder SPAC was to partner with an iconic company enabling digital transformation in a significant end market. We are pleased to have found that partner in Rubicon, who is transforming a multitrillion-dollar industry that has remained essentially unchanged for centuries.
“Nate is a visionary CEO who has driven innovation in one of the toughest categories in the business world, delivering value to Rubicon’s hauling and recycling partners and the customers they serve.”
Since Rubicon’s inception in 2008, the company grew to over $500 million in annual revenues in 2020. The company has built a network of more than 8,000 hauling and recycling partners and more than 8 million worldwide service locations. Rubicon expects to increase growth in the coming years as the company’s international markets expand and new customers are added to existing markets.
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