CLEAR Secure buys Argentine startup Whyline

Founded in 2015 by a group of Argentine entrepreneurs, Whyline helps organizations across industries manage customer flows using virtual queuing.

Using Whyline’s mobile app, users can see live wait-times, enter into the queue remotely or pre-book their appointment and let the software wait on their behalf.  

Whyline’s clients include Port of Seattle, Newark Liberty International Airport, Los Angeles World Airports, Charleston International Airport, Western Union, Banco Santander, Banco Macro, Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, and the City of Buenos Aires.

The acquisition was structured as a reverse triangular merger pursuant to which a wholly owned subsidiary of CLEAR merged with and into Whyline, with Whyline becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of CLEAR.

The transaction was challenging as it was completed in a record time and required coordinated work between U.S. and Argentine counsel, as senior management were based in Argentina.

The Whyline acquisition will introduce the CLEAR experience to new industries like banking, retail and government services while also expanding virtual queuing in existing industries like airports, accelerate CLEAR’s expansion into international markets, and leverage Whyline’s cutting-edge technology and seasoned technology team to further enhance CLEAR’s products and platform.

"Whyline and CLEAR share a common mission: to create a better, frictionless future. Over the past five years, the Whyline team has built impressive technology that is helping change our day-to-day lives and routines for the better. With this acquisition, we're helping people and partners spend less time waiting and more time doing what matters most to them," Caryn Seidman-Becker, CLEAR’s CEO, said.

Whyline was advised on the transaction in Argentina by law firm Mitrani, Caballero & Ruiz Moreno, with a team led by Mercedes Rodriguez Giavarini (M&A); María Recondo and Jimena Martínez Costa (corporate); Esteban Valansi (labor) and Rita Colombo (IP).

It was advised in the United States by Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, with a team led by Timothy J. Kulis, Michael S. Hacker, Aditya Perakath and Morgan R. Clarke.

Clear was counseled in Argentina by law firm Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal, with a team comprising Pablo García Morillo and Maria Soledad Noodt Molins (corporate), Enrique M. Stile and Maria Eugenia Soncini (labor), and in the US by Fenwick & West LLP, whose team featured Ethan Skerry, Matt McCabe, Jennifer Wu and Claire Chung.