Cepton Technologies to Go Public via SPAC Merger

Cepton Technologies Inc. entered a definitive business combination agreement with Growth Capital Acquisitions Corp., a publicly traded special acquisition company (SPAC), as well as related subscription agreements, for an aggregate $58.5 million private placement in connection with the business combination. Once the transaction closes, the combined company will be renamed Cepton Inc. and listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol CPTN.

The transaction values Cepton at an enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The move, Cepton said in a press release, is expected to provide approximately $231 million in gross proceeds.

Cepton will enter the lidar sector with particular focus on advanced driver-assisted systems (ADAS) in mass-market passenger vehicles. Founded in 2016 by technologists from Stanford University, Cepton has from its inception focused on ADAS, the company said.

Cepton’s patented, directional lidar technology demonstrates a compact form factor and low power consumption; the lidars have been integrated in headlamps, on roofs, and behind windshields, making them versatile for ADAS applications, Cepton said in the release. The lidars use a mirrorless, rotation-free, and frictionless method for 3D imaging, which maximizes optical efficiency, reliability, and scalability.

“We anticipate that people will be able to purchase vehicles with advanced driver-assist features powered by Cepton’s lidar technology by 2023,” Cepton co-founder and CEO Jun Pei said.

The proposed combination is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Quanergy, Velodyne Lidar, AEye, Luminar Technologies, and Aeva are among the lidar companies that have recently combined with SPACs to become publicly traded.

The move follows Cepton’s securement of a $50 million investment from KOITO Manufacturing. This second investment will be made through KOITO’s participation in a private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering of shares of common stock of Growth Capital in connection with the anticipated merger with Cepton. KOITO has agreed to purchase 5 million shares of common stock of Growth Capital in the PIPE at $10 per share, which is subject to the completion of the business combination.