(Bloomberg) — Near, a data intelligence platform, is in talks to go public through a merger with KludeIn I Acquisition Corp., a blank-check firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The companies are discussing a a transaction that could be announced in coming weeks, and that may give the combined entity an enterprise value of about $1 billion to $1.2 billion, one of the people said. As with all deals that aren’t finalized, it’s possible that terms change or that talks fall apart.
A KludeIn representative didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Karen Steele, a Near spokeswoman, declined to comment.
Founded in 2012, Near recently moved its headquarters to Pasadena, California, and has offices in cities including Singapore, Bangalore, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, London and Paris, its website shows. The company is led by Chief Executive Officer and founder Anil Mathews. Investors include Sequoia Capital, JPMorgan Asset Management, Telstra Ventures and Cisco Investments.
The company last month appointed Gladys Kong as chief operating officer, and said it was experiencing “significant growth” across industries including commercial real estate, restaurants, tourism and retail. “Near has a huge, untapped market opportunity ahead to unify the operational and marketing data intelligence needs of businesses of all sizes,” Mathews said at the time. Clients includes CBRE Group Inc. and Wendy’s Co., and more than 60% of the Fortune 500, the website shows.
The KludeIn SPAC is backed by former Morgan Stanley India head Narayan Ramachandran. It raised $172.5 million in a January initial public offering.
Read more: Former Morgan Stanley India Head’s SPAC to Tap Diaspora in U.S.
(Updates with valuation, clients starting in second paragraph.)
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