Blade Set to Go Public by Merging with Blank-Check Company
Blade — the Uber-like, short-distance aviation company known for its helicopter flights to the Hamptons — is set to go public by merging with a blank-check company.
The deal values Blade at $825 million and is being backed by a slew of media big shots, including IAC chairman Barry Diller, movie and music mogul David Geffen, iHeartMedia boss Bob Pittman and Discovery chief executive David Zaslav, according to an SEC filing on Tuesday.
Rob Wiesenthal, a former Warner Music and Sony executive who founded Blade in 2014, said the initial public offering will allow his company to expand new urban air mobility routes and infrastructure, as well as accelerate its transition from the use of conventional aircraft to electric vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL technology.
