SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs Inc. ("Planet"), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced the completion of its previously announced business combination (the "Business Combination") with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (formerly NYSE: DMYQ) ("dMY IV"). The combined company has been renamed Planet Labs PBC and its shares and warrants will commence trading tomorrow, December 8th, 2021, on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol "PL".
"Today marks a huge milestone for Planet and our team, representing over a decade of hard work and dedication to using space to help life on earth," said Planet co-founder and CEO Will Marshall. "Our listing on the NYSE and fully capitalized growth plan will enable us to accelerate our business and work with our partners towards creating a more sustainable and secure world."
"Planet is a true pioneer, delivering critical insights and solutions to some of the world's most influential companies and governments," said Niccolo de Masi, CEO of dMY Technology Group and a member of the combined company's board of directors. "The company's rapidly growing and one-to-many data platform business is poised for tremendous growth as data becomes increasingly central to the global economy. With a strong leadership team in place and a growing market for data-driven insights, Planet is well-positioned to further scale the business and drive value for shareholders."
In connection with the closing of the Business Combination, Planet received gross proceeds of over $590 million, including proceeds from the dMY IV trust account and the previously announced private placement ("PIPE"). The PIPE had participation from CPP Investments, Koch Strategic Platforms, Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures, and existing Planet investor, Google, among others. The capital will be used to fund Planet's operations and support new and existing growth initiatives.
The name Planet Labs PBC reflects the company's status as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). Planet's public benefit purpose is: "To accelerate humanity to a more sustainable, secure and prosperous world by illuminating environmental and social change."
Planet's management team, led by CEO and co-founder Will Marshall, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder Robbie Schingler, CFO and COO Ashley Johnson, and President of Product and Business Kevin Weil, will continue to lead the public company following the Business Combination, as previously announced.
After the closing of the Business Combination, the combined company's Board of Directors will consist of seven members: Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler, Heidi Roizen, Niccolo de Masi, Vijaya Gadde, Carl Bass and Ita Brennan.
Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Planet. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC also acted as co-lead placement agents on the PIPE. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Needham & Company, LLC served as financial advisers to dMY IV. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC was sole bookrunner on the dMY IV IPO, with Needham & Company, LLC and Academy Securities, Inc. serving as co-managers. Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to Planet. White & Case LLP is serving as legal advisor to dMY IV.
About Planet
Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites, capturing and compiling data from over 3 million images per day. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to over 700 customers, comprising the world's leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on Twitter at @planet.
Forward-Looking Statements
The matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, our ability to capture the market opportunity ahead of us; whether and when we will be able to execute on our growth initiatives; whether we will realize any of the potential benefits from our acquisition of VanderSat; whether we will be able to successfully build or deploy our satellites, including new satellites that are in development; whether the experience any new executives or board members may have will result in benefits for Planet; and whether we will be able to continue to invest in scaling our sales organization and expanding our software engineering capabilities. Forward-looking statements are based on our management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: our limited operating history making it difficult to predict our future operating results; our expectations that our operating expenses will increase substantially for the foreseeable future; whether the market for our products and services that is built upon our data set, which has not existing before, will grow as we expect; whether current customers or prospective customers adopt our platform; whether we will be able to compete effectively with the increasing competition in our market from commercial entities and governments; our international operations creating business and economic risks that could impact our operations and financial results; the interruption or failure of our satellite operations, information technology infrastructure or loss of its data storage, whether by cyber-attacks or other adverse events that limit our ability to perform our daily operations effectively and provide our products and services; whether we experience any adverse events, such as delayed launches, launch failures, our satellites failing to reach their planned orbital locations, our satellites failing to operate as intended, being destroyed or otherwise becoming inoperable, the cost of satellite launches significantly increasing and/or satellite launch providers not having sufficient capacity; our satellites not being able to capture Earth images due to weather, natural disasters or other external factors, or as a result of our constellation of satellites having restrained capacity; if we are unable to develop and release product and service enhancements to respond to rapid technological change, or to develop new designs and technologies for our satellites, in a timely and cost-effective manner; downturns or volatility in general economic conditions, including as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic or any other outbreak of an infectious disease; the loss of one or more of our key personnel, or our failure to attract, hire, retain and train other highly qualified personnel in the future; our ability to raise adequate capital, including on acceptable terms, to finance our business strategies; the impact our indebtedness has on our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, operate our business and react to changes in the economy or our industry; how rules and regulations in our highly regulated industry may impact our business; if we fail to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level; and the other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed by dMY IV with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and any subsequent filings with the SEC we may make. Copies of each filing may be obtained from us or the SEC. All forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
Contacts
Press
Trevor Hammond
comms@planet.com
John Christiansen/Cassandra Bujarski
Sard Verbinnen & Co
Planet-SVC@sardverb.com
ICR
dmy4@icrinc.com
Investors
Chris Genualdi
Planet Labs Inc.
ir@planet.com
Harry You
dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV
harry@dmytechnology.com
