Tado does not go public via Spac

Contrary to what was planned for a long time, the Munich-based thermostat start-up Tado will not go public via Spac. The company shell already has a new candidate.

After months of negotiations, the Munich-based thermostat start-up Tado will not go public via Spac on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The original plan was for corporate shell GFJ ESG Acquisition I to merge with the startup, which was founded in 2011. A valuation of 450 million euros initially seemed possible. In March, this estimate was already lowered to 400 million euros - now the deal finally burst.

Tado still plans to go public, just no longer with the help of GFJ ESG, a company spokeswoman said in an interview with Businessinsider. According to her, 2022 will be a record year for the energy-saving startup. Spac also already has concrete plans: the British building management company Learnd is now to be taken public. However, there is a possible conflict of interest in this deal, as Capital reported. This is because the initiators of Spac, Florian Fritsch and Josef Brunner, are also Learnd's largest investors.

However, Fritsch has since left Spac and also sold his shares in the British start-up to Brunner. As a result, Brunner now owns 75 percent of the company, which he wants to take public through the specially initiated Spac. Backers of a Spac have the option to reclaim their money if they don't like the acquired company.