Apple Retail Creator’s Start-up Enjoy Going Public Via SPAC
Delivery service start-up Enjoy Technology Inc. is the latest company planning to go public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company in a $1.6 billion deal.
Retail pioneer Ron Johnson — the man responsible for the Apple Store and Target’s first designer collaboration — is taking his new retail company public through a SPAC merger with Marquee Raine Acquisition Corp. ., a Nasdaq-listed SPAC that was trading at $9.98 as of the close of regular trading today. The terms of the deal were not available but Enjoy was valued at $900 million as of its last venture capital round in August 2019 according to Pitchbook. Enjoy, which Johnson founded in 2014, brings the store experience to consumers’ homes via a technology-powered “mobile store” operation.
Marquee Raine Acquisition raised $374 million in a December initial public offering, Bloomberg reported today.
Home delivery has long been a trend, but where Enjoy differentiates itself is with employees setting devices up. The company’s representatives spend an hour installing devices and also provide advice to users on how to use what they’ve purchased. In the company’s own words, its “expert will help you unlock the magic of your new product.”
It’s an interesting middleman idea in an age where ordering things online and having those items delivered is now normal, slowly killing traditional retail stores. Along the way. Notable companies that Enjoy works with include Apple, AT&T Inc., BT Group Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. The company operates in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.
Coming into its SPAC merger, enjoy filled two executive roles in February, including hiring former Kellogg Chief Financial Officer Fareed Khan as its CFO and Jonathan Mariner, the former chief investment officer and CFO of Major League Baseball, as its chief administrative officer and people officer.
Enjoy has raised $230 million in venture capital funding per data from Crunchbase. Investors include L Catterton, G Squared, Kleiner Perkins, Highland Capital Partners, Oak Investment Partners and Andreessen Horowitz
