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Sard Verbinnen & Co. is helping Planet Labs, which runs the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites, go public via a $2.8B merger with the dMY Technology Group IV blank check company.
Koch Strategic Investments, BlackRock, Google and Salesforce founder Marc Benioff’s Time Ventures are kicking in $200M in private investment in public equity financing as part of the transaction.
Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet has more than 600 customers using its data in the national security, mapping, agriculture, energy and forestry sectors.
Planet’s goal “is to use space to help life on Earth,” according to CEO Will Marshall.
He said the company’s 200 satellites deliver data via Bloomberg-like terminals to make it simple to consume and expand reach to potentially millions of users across dozens of vertials.
“As the world shifts to a more sustainable economy and more companies and governments set their sustainability and ESG goals, the first step in achieving these objectives is measurement,” said Marshall. “Planet’s daily, global data is foundational in making that transition.”
Planet, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, reported an 18 percent rise in revenues to $113M for the fiscal year ended January 2021. It lost $127M.
Sard Verbinnen’s John Christiansen and Cassandra Bujarski handle media for Planet, while ICR Inc. represents dMY Technology Group IV.
Kekst CNC represents Public Storage as it acquires National Storage Affiliates, which uses Joele Frank for media work, to create the world’s largest self-storage owner & operator.
Prosek Partners handles New York’s Tilray Brands, craft beer & cannabis operation, as it acquires BrewDog, a leading British independent beer producer in the UK, for $45M.
Brunswick Group handles Zurich Insurance as it agrees to buy UK-based Beazley specialty insurer in a deal valued at $11B.
FGS Global represents Brink’s as it agrees to acquire NCR Atleos, which relies on Collected Strategies, in a $6.6B cash & stock deal to create a leading fintech infrastructure company. (Updated)
A January article in O’Dwyer’s proposes that in 2026, the strongest financial brands will not simply tell compelling stories—they will “signal readiness.”
