Lexington Based Recycling Software Company Going Public With $2 Billion Merger; Founder Has Ties to KY Politics

A Lexington, Kentucky, based waste and recycling platform has agreed to go public with a Founder SPAC, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal worth a combined $2 Billion. 

Rubicon Technologies founder Nate Morris is the CEO of the software company that manages waste and recycling for customers like Apple, Walmart, Starbucks, and he has deep ties to Kentucky politics. 

The announcement Thursday could reinsert the 41-year old Morris into conversations surrounding Kentucky politics. Morris was a close confidant of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, in 2015 as the junior Senator started his presidential bid. He was also considered as a running mate during the 2015 GOP gubernatorial primary, sources say. Morris has a history as a fundraiser and raised a substantial amount for George W. Bush in 2004. 

The news first reported by the Wall Street Journal is big for Kentucky, upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Rubicon Technologies and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “RBT.” The company will continue to be based in Lexington, Kentucky, and led by Nate Morris, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rubicon, and other key executive leadership.

Rubicon was started with a $10,000 line of credit in 2008, and generated more than $500 million in revenue in 2019 and 2020, according to a news release.