UK-based insurtech Ondo has completed its public listing on the London Stock Exchange following a takeover by a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The acquisition by listed shell company Spinnaker Acquisitions and Labs, a subsidiary of HomeServe PLC, resulted in the formation of Ondo Insurtech PLC.
The company said it is the first insurtech to list on London’s primary market. The company has raised £3.4m through fundraising at 12p per share and will have an issue price market capitalisation of approximately £8.2m.
Ondo has created a water leak detection system called LeakBot, used by firms such as Hiscox, Direct Line and TopDanmark to help customers detect leaks in their homes.
According to Ondo, water damage is the highest source of claims on residential properties and is the cause for approximately 30% of paid insurance claims in the UK and US, which is equivalent to £12.9bn a year.
“We are thrilled to be the very first insurtech IPO in London and we are very excited about the opportunity ahead,” said Ondo CEO Craig Foster.
“We have reached the milestone of trading as an independent public company at a time when sustainability, business and consumer financial pressures have never been greater.
Foster added: “We have always worked with one mission in mind – to help drive sustainable risk reduction – and are excited to now scale our existing solution while working with our home insurance industry partners to continue to drive risk reduction through innovations in InsurTech.”
Ondo said it will use the proceeds of the IPO to expand internationally in Europe, Scandinavia and the US.
The company recently moved its product development and manufacturing teams back to the UK from China.
It first announced its plan to go public via a SPAC merger back in December.
Taking the SPAC route to a public market has become increasingly popular among technology companies because it is often quicker, bypasses regulatory processes, can lead to higher valuations and has less dilution of shares.
It involves a SPAC raising cash via an IPO and using the proceeds to acquire a private company.
Last year British used car marketplace Cazoo went public via a $7bn SPAC deal, while health company Babylon went public for £3bn via a blank cheque company.
Spinnaker chairman Andy Morrison said: “The acquisition of LeakBot Ltd to form Ondo Insurtech Plc is precisely in line with the strategy that we set out, to seek an acquisition in the green economy space.
“Ondo is a real-world business with an exciting growth pipeline, and it arrives on the public market at a time when ESG opportunities have never been more needed”.
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