The envisioned business combination between Proximus’ subsidiary Telesign and NAAC has been terminated
The previously announced business combination agreement between Proximus’ fast-growing US-based subsidiary Telesign and NAAC, dated December 16, 2021, has been terminated, as the customary conditions precedent (including the minimum cash condition) required to close the transaction were not met by June 30 as stipulated in the business combination agreement.
This decision, which is a result of the high volatility in market trading linked to the external macro-economic environment, implies that the intended public listing of Telesign through a deSPAC transaction with NAAC will not take place. Proximus remains fully committed to further supporting Telesign’s future growth.
Since the announcement of the envisioned business combination in December 2021, the market conditions for public listings have significantly deteriorated due to external macro-economic factors.
Despite these external circumstances impeding the envisioned public listing of Telesign through a business combination with NAAC, Proximus’ fast-growing subsidiary in the digital identity and CPaaS is well equipped to pursue its growth trajectory. As the first-quarter 2022 results have underlined once again, Telesign has shown that it delivers upon a sound strategy and is on track to further reinforce its position as a leading digital identity and CPaaS provider.
Proximus is convinced that the mid- and long-term value creation generated by Telesign is not affected. Having completed all the preparatory steps required to become a public company, and benefiting from a strong commercial momentum, the company is ready to continue its strategic growth trajectory. Proximus remains fully committed to supporting Telesign in capturing growth opportunities to leverage its full potential and remains open to all available options to accelerate that growth. The funding needs of Telesign to realise its published growth trajectory are estimated to be around USD 90 million, spread over the 2022-2024 timeframe. Proximus will be considering different routes for this funding.
We regret that the market conditions do not enable the envisioned business combination between Telesign and NAAC, despite the strong commercial performance of Telesign in recent quarters. We remain as confident as ever in Telesign’s future growth, sound strategy and strong value propositions. We are very satisfied with Telesign’s track record so far and reiterate our commitment to further supporting its growth trajectory, driven by a strong belief in the company’s potential and compelling equity story.
Joe BurtonCEO of TelesignIn light of current market conditions, we believe that the best course of action for Telesign is to remain private for the near-term. We will revisit this strategy when overall market conditions improve. While difficult, this decision does not impact our ability to execute on our long-term objectives. We continue to see accelerating demand for our Digital Identity offering and the entire management team is fully committed to pursuing this opportunity.
