OpSec to list on Nasdaq via SPAC merger

Brand protection specialist OpSec Security has said it will list on the Nasdaq by merging with a specialist purpose acquisition company (SPAC) – sometimes called a ‘blank cheque’ company.

The deal with Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I – which is expected to close in the second half of this year – will raise up to $199 million in gross proceeds, valuing the combined company at around $426 million. It will operate as OpSec Group.

The SPAC merger approach it can provide a quicker route to a public market debut, something that can take months or years via the traditional route of waiting for an initial public offering (IPO). Using the model, the SPAC goes public itself, ahead of buying the companies or assets it wants to develop with the funds raised during that process.

The listing announcement comes shortly after OpSec expanded its business with the acquisition of Zacco, a Danish intellectual property management and protection company, which will boost the combined company’s revenues in the current fiscal year to around $218 million.

The company said after the takeover closed that combining the two businesses will allow it to provide clients with an “end-to-end solution for IP and brand optimisation, monetisation, and protection.”

OpSec’s core business is in physical product authentication, traceability, brand identity and protecting content online, and adding Zacco layered in the ability to register and maintain patents, trademarks, and industrial designs, as well as digital brand assets such as domain names.

“With the global value of counterfeiting and piracy estimated at $2.8trn in 2022, the threat posed by the imitators, content pirates, and fraudsters is profound, and looks set to increase further given continued growth in e-commerce, online content, and social media,” said Dr Selva Selvaratnam, OpSec’s CEO (pictured alongside).

“Creating, nurturing, and protecting intellectual property and brand identities in this environment has unquestionably become one of the defining priorities for leading enterprises,” he added. “Our aim is to bring innovation to the way in which enterprises create and safeguard the significant intangible value that is embodied in their brands and products.”

The company says that it numbers around 5,000 of the world’s top brands across media and technology, sports and apparel, and consumer and industrial products, as well as governments and financial institutions, among its customers, with greater than 90 per cent retention annually.