Owlet Baby Care Inc., a Lehi-based producer of baby monitors, including its flagship product Owlet Smart Sock, and Sandbridge Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company co-sponsored by affiliates of Sandbridge Capital and PIMCO private funds, have announced a definitive merger agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company’s securities are expected to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “OWLT.”
Launched in 2012 by a team of dads, Owlet has built a connected and accessible nursery ecosystem that brings technology and vital data to modern parenting. The company’s products use proprietary pulse-oximetry technology to track a baby’s heart rate, oxygen levels and sleep patterns to provide parents with invaluable peace of mind. The Owlet Smart Sock integrates seamlessly with Owlet’s camera product, the Owlet Cam, enabling parents to see and hear their babies via Owlet’s convenient smartphone app.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Sandbridge as we continue our goal of helping parents succeed in the parenting journey,” said Kurt Workman, CEO and founder of Owlet. “Ken Suslow and Domenico De Sole are category-defining modern brand creators and will help usher Owlet into our next phase of growth as we expand our product suite and work to support family needs through some of the most crucial years of raising children. We look forward to further serving our current loyal customers as well as addressing a sizable untapped market, spanning multiple consumer touchpoints, and building Owlet into a vital family platform that will serve parents for generations to come.”
“Since Day One, the core thesis at Eclipse has been that true disruption of physical-world sectors, such as consumer health, would require full-stack — rather than incremental — solutions. Having met Owlet in its infancy and helped build the company for the last few years, I am excited about this well-deserved next step,” said Lior Susan, chairman of Owlet’s board and founding partner of Eclipse Ventures, Owlet’s largest investor. “Owlet’s goal is to become an indispensable part of the modern nursery, and we are enthusiastic to extend the reach of the company by working with Sandbridge.”
Ken Suslow, chairman & CEO of Sandbridge Acquisition, said, “We are excited to be partnering with Lior Susan and the impressive Owlet team on their next-gen, mission-driven approach to building out the connected nursery ecosystem of the future — we believe the opportunity here is immense.”
The business combination values Owlet on a pre-transaction basis at a $1 billion equity value and values the post-transaction combined company at an enterprise value of approximately $1.074 billion. The deal is expected to deliver up to $325 million in cash to the combined company, after payment of estimated transaction expenses, through the contribution of up to $230 million of cash held in Sandbridge’s trust account and a $130 million concurrent private placement of common stock, priced at $10 per share.
As part of the transaction, Owlet’s current management and existing equity holders intend to roll nearly 100 percent of their equity into the combined company. Leading existing institutional backers of the company, including Eclipse Ventures and Trilogy Equity Partners, intend to put all of their equity into the combined company.
