Latch, maker of the full-building enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform LatchOS, and TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp. (NASDAQ: TSIAU), announce they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Latch becoming a publicly listed company.
The transaction values the smart access control company at an equity value of $1.56 billion, according to the announcement. Upon closing, Latch’s common stock is expected to trade on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol LTCH.
TSIA is a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) launched by global real estate developer and investment manager Tishman Speyer Properties.
Under terms of the deal, Latch will receive around $510 million in cash, including $190 million from investors that include Chamath Palihapitiya, BlackRock Inc, D1 Capital Partners and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
Founded in 2014, Latch is an enterprise SaaS provider to buildings and residents that makes spaces better places to live, work and visit, the announcement states. Latch has partnered with many of the country’s largest real estate owners and investors including Tishman Speyer, Brookfield, among others. The company is said to have booked over 300,000 units across more than 35 states, with one in 10 new multifamily apartments in the United States built with Latch in 2019.
Latch’s management team, led by Co-Founder and CEO Luke Schoenfelder, will continue to operate and manage Latch following the transaction. Rob Speyer, president and CEO of Tishman Speyer and CEO and Chairman of TSIA, will join the company’s board of directors upon completion of the transaction.
“Latch has successfully created an entire ecosystem around our full building operating system, devices, and partners that enhances the building experience for both owners and residents,” says Schoenfelder. “This transaction provides the capital for Latch to accelerate our product and market expansion and drive bookings growth.”
The transaction will also give Latch the ability to harness Tishman Speyer’s global real estate platform to more rapidly create new products, leveraging their vertically integrated real estate business and on-the-ground teams across the globe,” Schoenfelder adds.
LatchOS is said to be the first multifamily operating system that brings together all the elements that make up the modern building for building managers, residents and service providers. Its core capabilities are designed to unify operations us users, while giving building owners the flexibility to select the specific capabilities to meet their needs, according to the announcement.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication Security Sales & Integration‘s website.
