Elenium looks at a little-known tool for funding at $185M valuation

Another rainy-day funding scheme has found a fan in Elenium Automation, a face and palm biometrics supplier focused on the aviation industry.

Elenium reportedly is considering a SPAC to find $185 million in operating cash. Special purpose acquisition companies have generally been growing in popularity for many years, but interest in them spikes in down cycles.

A paper company is created so that it can perform an initial public offering before buying or merging with the company that needs money.

Australia-based Elenium’s software and hardware have been deployed at 25 airports globally, according to The Australian Financial Review. Those include recent biometrics deployments at airports in Queenstown and Leeds. The company’s potential SPAC is known as Integral Acquisition Corp. 1 and has been listed on the Nasdaq since later 2021.

A SPAC is a move-it-or-lose it vehicle. When formed, it has no stated acquisition targets, and promoters have two years to sink investor money into a good bet or they must hand back the money.

That ticking clock can work to a target company’s advantage, giving it some leverage over a SPAC promoter who is running out of time.

Whether true or not, SPACs have a reputation for being more prone to fraud.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  Australia  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Elenium  |  stocks