White & Case Advises Arqit Limited on Agreed Business Combination with Centricus Acquisition Corp

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Arqit Limited, a leader in quantum encryption technology, on its agreed business combination (de-SPAC) with Centricus Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.

"We have supported Arqit in accelerating the delivery of its revolutionary technology to the market," said Daniel Turgel, White & Case partner and Co-Head of the firm's Global Technology Industry Group, who co-led the Firm's deal team. "The combination of our globally renowned SPAC team and our leading technology practice means that we are ideally placed to assist companies with their strategic ambitions in this area."

Arqit has invented a unique quantum encryption technology, QuantumCloud™, which makes the communication links of any networked device secure against current and future forms of hacking – even an attack from a quantum computer.

The transaction with Centricus is expected to provide up to US$400 million of gross proceeds to Arqit.  This includes funds from a fully committed private investment in public equity, or PIPE transaction, with participation from Arqit business partners Virgin Orbit and Sumitomo Corporation, and Centricus sponsor Heritage Group.

The pro forma equity value of the business combination is approximately US$1.4 billion, with a pro forma enterprise value of approximately US$1.0 billion at the PIPE price of US$10.00 per share, assuming minimal redemption from existing Centricus shareholders.

The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led by partners Daniel Turgel, Monica Holden and Dominic Ross (all London) and Elliott Smith (New York), with support from partners Colin Diamond, Sang Ji, Victoria Rosamond and Henrik Patel (all New York), Maia Gez (Silicon Valley), Will Smith, Philip Trillmich, Nicholas Greenacre, Marc Israel and Tim Hickman (all London) and Farhad Jalinous and Rebecca Farrington (Washington, DC), senior policy counsel Earl Comstock (Washington, DC), counsel Claudette Robertson Druehl (New York) and associates Finlay Fraser, Sonica Tolani, Helen Pantelides, Callie Wallace, Lily Teh and Amy Detheridge (all London) and Adriana Zhan and Robin Heszkel (both New York).

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