SFBQF - SoftBank ups stake in Symbotic and strikes new warehouse-as-a-service joint venture deal

2023-07-24 07:57:59 ET

• SoftBank ( OTCPK:SFBQF ) and Symbotic ( NASDAQ: SYM ) are investing a combined $100 million to establish the joint venture , which will be called GreenBox Systems LLC, and buying more shares in the supply-chain services company.
• The new JV, GreenBox will offer first-of-its kind automated warehouse services, unlocking a significant new addressable market.
• The JV aims to expand access to Symbotic systems to a broad range of customers through a new "as a service" offering.
• SoftBank ( OTCPK:SFBQF ) and Symbotic ( SYM ) will contribute $100 million of capital to GreenBox at the beginning, which will be used to cover startup costs and initial system purchases. The arrangement is anticipated to increase Symbotic's yearly free cash flow after the initial $35 million pro rata capital investment.
• SoftBank will own about 65% of GreenBox, and the rest will be owned by Symbotic, which went public in 2022 through a merger with a SoftBank-backed special-purpose acquisition company.
• GreenBox’s management team will be independent from Symbotic and SoftBank, and its board will comprise three managers: one nominee from each of Symbotic and SoftBank and one independent manager.
• Concurrently, over the course of the contract, SoftBank ( OTCPK:SFBQF ) will buy $7.5 billion of Symbotic’s AI-powered systems for its warehouses.
• GreenBox will order Symbotic’s systems over a six-year period commencing in fiscal year 2024 in order to incorporate Symbotic's systems across its warehouse network in larger-scale deployments than Symbotic's present installed base systems. After the project design is approved, symbolic systems typically reach full operating capacity in 24 months.
• Separately, SoftBank has acquired roughly 17.8 million shares from Rick Cohen, the chairman and CEO of Symbotic, for $28.05 per share, which was Symbotic's 45-calendar-day VWAP as of May 26, 2023. There will be no dilution for Symbotic shareholders as this sale is made up entirely of secondary shares.

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