Aries I Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:RAM) announced in an 8-K filing this afternoon that it has extended its outside date and increased its equity value in connection to its business combination with metaverse infrastructure platform, InfiniteWorld.
The parties are extending the Outside Date by nine months from November 21, 2022 to August 21, 2023, which seems like an unusually long time given that the deal was originally announced in December 2021, nearly eight months ago already. And while Aries I’s target, InfiniteWorld, isn’t exactly a crypto exchange or token, it still is operating in an adjacent market to the crypto space by focusing on NFTs and the Metaverse.
With that being said, the crypto sector is currently going through some choppy times, and even more so with Crytpo focused SPACs and their SEC reviews, which have been taking an exceptionally long amount of time. When looking at non-crypto SPACs that are currently announced and looking to complete, companies are currently around 4.2 months from their announcement date on a median basis. However, most deals directly involved in the crypto space that are announced and looking to complete show nearly twice that amount of time at 7.8 months out from announcement date, and still have not closed. Most likely Aries I and InfiniteWorld are playing it safe by extending their Outside Date to more than a year from now to account for long review times in the crypto sector.
Aries I’s business combination partner InfiniteWorld, which develops a marketplace for creators to sell NFTs, and creative tools for both individuals and brands., originally had a pro forma $554 million enterprise value. The deal’s equity value was recently increased from $525 million to $527 million and now has an enterprise value of roughly $556 million, accounting for InfiniteWorld’s recent acquisition of SuperBitMachine, Inc.
Aries I brings $145 million into the deal from its current trust and has not yet supplemented this with a PIPE. Combined with $26 million in existing cash on its balance sheet, InfiniteWorld expects to come out of the deal with $151 million in cash after paying $20 million in transaction fees, however the transaction does not contain a minimum cash condition.
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