Beacon Street Group to go public via merger with Ascendant Digital Acquisition

Beacon Street Group, a multi-brand digital subscription services platform that provides premium financial research, software, education, and tools for self-directed investors, and Ascendant Digital Acquisition Corp., announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement which will result in Beacon Street becoming a publicly traded company. The transaction reflects an implied pro forma enterprise value for Beacon Street of approximately $3B at closing. Assuming no redemptions by Ascendant's existing public stockholders, aggregate consideration to Beacon Street equity holders will be approximately $2.9B, consisting of up to $374M of cash consideration and $2.5B or more of rollover equity. The cash consideration will be funded by Ascendant's cash in trust of approximately $414M, as well as a $150M private placement from a high-quality investor group. The combined company plans to retain up to $150M of cash on its balance sheet following the transaction, which, in addition to incremental leverage capacity, will provide financial flexibility and facilitate organic and inorganic growth opportunities. At the closing of the business combination, assuming no redemptions by Ascendant's existing public stockholders, approximately 20% of the common stock of the company is expected to be held by public investors, with existing Beacon Street equity holders owning the rest. The Board will initially be comprised of seven directors, including two directors appointed by Ascendant and five by Beacon Street, including CEO Mark Arnold and three independent directors. The boards of directors of both Beacon Street and Ascendant have unanimously approved the transaction. The proposed transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary regulatory and other closing conditions, including approval by Ascendant's stockholders.