SoftBank-Backed View Raises $200 Million in Convertible Notes

Gillian Tan, Bloomberg News

Signage displayed atop a SoftBank Corp. store is reflected in the windows in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- View Inc., a maker of so-called “smart windows” that is backed by SoftBank Group Corp., has raised $200 million in convertible notes from an investor group led by an affiliate of RXR.

RXR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Rechler will join the board of the Milpitas, California-based company, which is led by CEO Rao Mulpuri, according to a statement, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg. The investor group also included USAA Real Estate, Anson Funds and the environmental strategies group of BNP Paribas Asset Management, among others.

“At View, we are committed to creating sustainable, experiential, healthier, and smarter buildings,” Mulpuri said in the statement. “With the products and operations already in place, this capital allows us to scale our business to broad market adoption and profitability.”

Shares in View rose about 5% in pre-market trading in New York.

View has been public since March 2021, following a merger with a blank-check firm led by Cantor Fitzgerald. The company’s valuation, once as high as $2.24 billion, had plummeted to about $250 million as of Wednesday’s close in New York. In addition to SoftBank, investors include Madrone Capital Partners, which is affiliated with Walmart heir Rob Walton, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

Convertible notes have been touted as a potential financing source for companies that face capital needs after merging with a SPAC. They’re less dilutive than traditional equity and don’t have the same restrictive covenants or credit-rating needs as other debt, according to a Mayer Brown presentation. They have yet to be widely adopted by companies that have gone public via the SPAC route.

“Smart windows represent one of the most impactful ways to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions from real estate,” said Rechler. “View has thoughtfully built the intellectual property, full-stack products, manufacturing capacity, operational infrastructure, and most importantly, a delighted customer base needed to transform the real estate industry.”

(Updates with statement from 2nd paragraph.)