A ‘blank cheque’ company set up by the Japanese technology giant SoftBank has restarted a hunt for a merger partner after calling off a $2bn tie-up with Mapbox, one of the world’s fastest-growing providers of sophisticated location data services.

Sky News has learnt that SVF Investment Corp. 3 – a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed in New York – and Mapbox aborted discussions in recent weeks.

Banking sources said that Mapbox had decided to secure funding in the private markets at a higher valuation after the SoftBank SPAC sought to cut the price of its target to around $1.5bn.

Mapbox is said to have seen strong demand from other investors and could confirm details of a private capital-raising during the summer, the banking sources added.

The company, which initially supplied mapping data to international development organisations such as the World Bank and the United Nations, has grown from a Washington DC garage in 2010 to a 500-person business with offices around the world.

It competes with the likes of Google Maps in the provision of sophisticated mapping tools to 600 million monthly users globally.

Its products are used by tech giants including Adobe, IBM and Instacart.

The New York Times, Snapchat, The Weather Channel and Lonely Planet are also clients.

Insiders said that the SoftBank Vision Fund remained a supportive private shareholder in Mapbox.

They added that the SPAC had sought to reduce Mapbox’s valuation as part of the merger talks as a result of wider sentiment in the public markets rather than an attempt to improve SoftBank’s economics in the deal.

Mapbox announced in 2017 that SoftBank had led a $164m Series C funding round without disclosing its valuation.

If the merger had taken place, Mapbox would have become the latest company backed by SoftBank’s Vision Funds to go public through a SPAC merger.

WeWork, the shared office-space provider, struck a deal in March with BowX Acquisition to go public at a $9bn valuation nearly two years after aborting a conventional IPO at a far higher valuation.

One of the biggest SPAC deals of all to date has been the recently announced $40bn merger of the Asian ride-hailing app Grab with Altimeter Growth Corp.

Grab is also part-owned by SoftBank.

The Japanese group has created several other SPACs in addition to the one that is entertaining a merger with Mapbox.

Dozens of other companies from around the world have also agreed to go public in the US through SPAC deals – including Cazoo, the British-based used-car marketplace, which Sky News revealed was to float in a $7bn deal, and Vertical Aerospace, which was set up by the Ovo Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick.

SoftBank and Mapbox declined to comment.

Related posts:

Aprirose races to find buyer for COVID-hit QHotels Couture fashion brand Ralph & Russo defers staff payments Broadband giant CityFibre to sell stake to new investor Roblox shares rocket as it lists on Wall Street – but can the popular platform turn a profit? Rolls-Royce blames ‘severe impact’ of COVID as it dives to £4bn loss Entertainment giant AEG to disembark from Thames Clippers Business optimism highest since 2015 thanks to vaccine progress FanDuel spin-off hopes send Flutter shares all-a-flutter Morrissey quits St James’s Place board to chair AJ Bell Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs as it ploughs investment into battle for 5G Daisy founder Riley seals £210m takeover of telecoms rival XLN Return to major cities aids ‘biggest leap in house prices for 20 years’