Canada's LeddarTech going public after merger with acquisition company, report says

LeddarTech Inc., a Canadian automotive software company, is going public through a merger with a blank-check company led by Qualcomm Inc.’s former president, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The transaction will give LeddarTech a pro forma equity value of $348 million, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The transaction will provide the company with $23 million from the blank-check company Prospector Capital Corp., assuming investors don’t redeem their shares, and $43 million from a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, they said. 

Proceeds from the deal will be used to fund the expansion of the company’s product line and the commercialization of its first embedded software solutions, the people said.

Prospector is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, led by Derek Aberle, former president at Qualcomm. The blank-check firm raised $325 million in an initial public offering in 2021 with the intention of merging with a technology company. Though Prospector had extended its deadline for a merger this past January, investors have redeemed much of the shares.

LeddarTech develops and provides sensor fusion and perception software technology for autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS. Headquartered in Quebec City, the firm also has major R&D centers in Montreal, Toronto and Tel Aviv.