Gorilla Technology Group Inc., A Global Provider Of Edge Video Analytic Ai Technology, To Become Publicly Traded Through Proposed Business Combination With Global Spac Partners Co.

Gorilla’s leading Edge Analytics AI solutions are built on over 20 years of patented and proprietary technology – they run across most platforms, devices and businesses.

Gorilla anticipates a significant increase in smart infrastructure investments in the near future, with much of the spending focused on relieving post-pandemic stresses and facilitating economic recovery. The global edge computing market is expected to see massive growth in the coming years and is anticipated to reach $250 billion by 2024, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% over the forecast period, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). Gorilla is at the forefront of this growth as its early mover advantage and innovative technology place the company in a strong position to benefit from the potential growth in connected devices.

Gorilla has secured key technology partners including Softbank Corp. (Japan), among others, and investors including SBI Group (Japan), Asteria (Japan), Acer (Taiwan), and Telstra Ventures (Australia).

Transaction values Gorilla at a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $708 million USD and provides up to $169 million USD in gross proceeds from cash held in Global’s trust account (assuming no redemptions).

The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q1 2022. The combined company will be named Gorilla Technology Group Inc. and plans to be listed on Nasdaq under the anticipated ticker symbol “GRRR”.

Gorilla Technology Group Inc. (“Gorilla”), a global leader in edge artificial intelligence (“edge AI”) for security and other applications, and Global SPAC Partners Co, a blank check company, announced that they have entered into a business combination agreement. The combined company will be called Gorilla Technology Group Inc. and is expected to be publicly listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “GRRR” following the closing of the transaction, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and a minimum of $50 million gross cash at closing, along with customary closing conditions.

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Gorilla was established in 2001 with the vision of being a global leader in video intelligence, IoT technologies and cybersecurity. Gorilla maintains that vision and specializes in video analytics, network security and big data to support a wide range of solutions for commercial, industrial, cities and government purposes. Gorilla’s machine learning and deep learning video analysis algorithms can identify, analyze and extract information from digital content to drive business decisions — whether that be in healthcare, transportation hubs, manufacturing or retail.

Edge computing – which sits at the intersection of AI, IoT and Big Data – seeks to improve business agility by bringing the infrastructure and applications closer to where the data is generated and consumed, thereby powering the next wave of digital transformation. The industry is on the cusp of dramatic growth as the surge in number of connected devices (expected to reach 55.7 billion by 2025 according to International Data Corporation (“IDC”) and 5G network roll out by telecom players is expected to generate burgeoning growth in the volume of data being generated and increased adoption of AI. Per IDC, worldwide edge computing market is expected to reach over $250 billion in 2024, with the Edge internet economy is expected to be worth more than $4 trillion globally by 2030., which presents Gorilla, as one of the early movers in edge computing, with a significant growth opportunity.

Tomoyuki Nii, Chairman of Gorilla and Executive Officer at SBI Group, stated “This step of Gorilla listing on Nasdaq is well timed as the company is now ready to expand outside of its Southeast Asian base. Gorilla currently has a tremendous growth opportunity in Japan via its new partnership with SoftBank Corp. announced on September 21, 2021, and continue that growth into Asia and beyond with its international and experienced board members such as Yoichiro Pina Hirano, Founder & CEO of Asteria Corporation, a leading enterprise software company in Japan, and the addition of incoming board member the Honorable Ruth Kelly, former Member of Parliament and the United Kingdom’s former Secretary of Transportation. In building a portfolio of innovative products over the last 20 years, we have grown from a local start-up to a regional champion. We remain focused and incredibly committed on expanding & growing this business into a global enterprise and this business combination with Global will help cement our position in the global arena. We believe that our business will remain agile while the world continues going through challenging times, while keeping its eyes on building a strong track record of innovation, execution and excellence globally.”

Gorilla’s leading Edge AI technology has been developed over the last 20 years and includes 8 pending patent applications and 24 patents granted and issued patents within the US, Europe, Japan, China and Taiwan with solutions available across hardware platforms, and via AI models, AI appliances and AI SaaS modules. It develops a wide range of video-centric and content management solutions including Smart Cities, Smart Retail, and Enterprise Security. In addition, Gorilla provides a complete Security Convergence Platform to government institutions, telecom companies and private enterprises with network surveillance and cybersecurity.

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Gorilla places an emphasis on offering leading technology, expert service and precise delivery, and ensuring top-of-the-line, intelligent and strong edge AI solutions that enable clients to improve operational performance and efficiency. With a continuous core technology development roadmap focused on the Platform Independent AI Software for Massive AI SOC and Extended Market, Gorilla aims to deliver edge AI solutions to managed service providers, distributors, system integrators and hardware manufacturers.

Gorilla believes that currently only approximately 10% of enterprise data is created and processed outside of centralized data centers or cloud services. However the clear trend is for the creation and processing of data to occur closer to its source of generation, referred to as the “edge”. According to Gartner Inc., by 2025, this percentage will increase dramatically to approximately 75%. The early adopters of edge AI and edge computing technologies include industries such as transportation and driverless vehicles, education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, retail and video surveillance.

Gorilla’s strong competitive positioning is reflected in its list of technology partners that include SoftBank Corp. (Japan), among others, and leading clients across the world including Danone, ExxonMobil, AIS (Thailand’s Largest Mobile Operator, SET: ADVANC), ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (Japan’s Leading System Integrator, TYO: 4739), MACNICA, Inc. (Japan’s Leading Distributor, TYO: 3132), MARUBUN CORPORATION (Japan’s Leading Distributor, TYO: 3132), PT Synnex Metrodata Indonesia (Indonesia’s Leading Distributor, IDX: MTDL), VST ECS (Thailand’s Leading Distributor, Member of the VST ECS Group: 0856.HK), Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Indonesia’s state-owned manufacture), Auresys (a Singaporean vending machine manufacturer and supplier), Macnica DHW (Brazil’s Leading Distributor and joint smart lighting project), Portland International Airport (US), Taoyuan Airport (Taiwan), Taiwan International Port Corporation Ltd. and Taipei Medical University Hospital, among others. The company also has the backing of marquee investors including SBI Group (Japan), Acer (Taiwan), Telstra Ventures (Australia), and Asteria (Japan).

Jay Chandan, Chairman of Global, stated, “I am honoured to have the opportunity to join the Board of Gorilla as Executive Chairman following the combination. The Gorilla team has developed an outstanding technology platform with remarkably broad applicability. It will aim to capitalize on this foundation by extending Gorilla’s international reach and expanding its ecosystem, while continuing to innovate for the future. I look forward to helping to build a global presence for Gorilla and working with its diverse teams to enhance its customers’ capabilities and experience. Gorilla’s solutions have at their core: security, flexibility and responsiveness. Founded on these watch-words, I believe that Gorilla’s commitment to maximizing long-term shareholder value will be achieved by making Gorilla a go-to vendor for Edge AI and by making it an employer of choice for the talented colleagues.”

Dr. Spincer Koh, Founder and CEO of Gorilla, stated “Gorilla has been dedicated to developing AI for the last 20 years. Since Gorilla’s inception, we have remained focused on content processing, analysis, and application, specifically for video and network packets. Based on our abundant experience with global customers, we have seen the Edge AI industry evolve, mature and are now witnessing rapid growth. Therefore, we have been focusing on the optimization of the algorithms, allowing our application to be executed in an environment with relatively few resources, in the edge environment. We are not simply pursuing the best accuracy, but striking a balance between accuracy, computing time, and resource usage. With these experiences and technical kernels, we are thrilled to expand our business to global markets with customers and partners, that need AI to help further their businesses. We will continue to innovate across all areas that are key to product leadership, as we pursue end-to-end solutions for our customers’ rapidly evolving needs, while leveraging existing core competencies. We are also committed to continuous investments into R&D to help innovate new solutions for counter our customer pain points, as well as to enhance our current offerings, to meet their business challenges”

Following completion of the transaction, board of the the Company (as defined below) is expected to consist of Jay Chandan, as Executive Chairman, Dr. Spincer Koh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tomoyuki Nii, Executive Officer at SBI Group, Yoichiro Pina Hirano, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Asteria Corporation (Japan), the Honorable Ruth Kelly and Gregg Walker.

Transaction Details
In the transaction, a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary of Gorilla will merge with Global, with Global being the surviving entity, and with Global shareholders and holders of Global warrants receiving equivalent shares and warrants of Gorilla as the successor public company (such post-closing combined company, the “Company”). As part of the transaction, the outstanding equity of Gorilla will be converted into equity of the combined company. Existing Gorilla shareholders will receive no cash consideration, and will retain all of their current equity interests (after giving effect to a pre-closing reorganization), effectively rolling over their current ownership into an equivalent of approximately 65 million shares of Gorilla. The transaction values Gorilla at a pro-forma enterprise value of approximately $708 million. The transaction is expected to deliver up to $169 million of gross proceeds from cash held in Global’s trust account, subject to redemptions by Global subunit holders. The merger closing is conditioned upon Global having at least $50 million in gross cash proceeds at closing from either Global’s trust account or other sources.

Up to $159 million of cash remaining on Global’s balance sheet (assuming no redemptions) at the closing of the transaction, after paying off transaction expenses, is expected to remain on Gorilla’s balance sheet for working capital, growth capex and other general corporate purposes.

The Board of Directors of Gorilla and Global, respectively, have approved the transaction. The transaction will require the approval of the shareholders of Global and Gorilla, and is subject to other customary closing conditions, including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close late in the first quarter of 2022.

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