Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Tim Hortons China nears $1.8 billion SPAC deal, green fintech startup Aspiration in talks to merge with Interprivate III, and Vietnam’s VNG Corp. considers $3 billion merger
Tim Hortons China Is Said Near $1.8 Billion Deal With SPAC
The joint venture that runs the Chinese locations of iconic Canadian coffee shop chain Tim Hortons is nearing a deal to go public through a merger with blank-check company Silver Crest Acquisition Corp.(NASDAQ:SLCR), Bloomberg said.
A transaction could value the combined entity at about $1.8 billion and an announcement could come as early as this week.
READGreen Fintech Startup Aspiration Said in Interprivate SPAC Talks
Fintech startup Aspiration is in talks to go public through a merger with Interprivate III Financial Partners Inc. in a transaction that’s slated to value the combined entity at more than $2 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The vehicle is in talks to raise capital to support the transaction via a PIPE.
READGIC-Backed Vietnam Tech Firm Considers $3 Billion SPAC Merger
Vietnam’s VNG Corp., whose investors include a unit of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, is considering going public in the U.S. through a reverse merger with a blank-check company, according to Bloomberg.
The online gaming and technology firm is working with financial advisers to hold discussions with SPACs for a potential deal and a transaction could value VNG at $2 billion to $3 billion.
READChina’s Tech Crackdown Thwarts Pony.ai’s U.S. Listing Plans
Autonomous driving startup Pony.ai has put on hold plans to go public in New York through a merger with blank-check firm VectoIQ Acquisition II (NASDAQ:VTIQ) at a $12 billion valuation, after it failed to gain assurances from Beijing that it would not become a target of a crackdown against Chinese technology companies, Reuters said.
The decision makes Pony.ai one of the biggest companies to suspend its U.S. listing plans after China banned ride-sharing giant Didi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDI) from signing up new users just days after its blockbuster IPO in June.
READBad Tomatoes at SPAC’s Indoor Farm Empire Send Shares Tumbling
AppHarvest Inc.’s (NASDAQ:APPH) early efforts at indoor farming aren’t bearing financial fruit for shareholders of the SPAC that bought the startup in February.
The stock tumbled as much as 40% on Wednesday to as little as $7.20, far below the typical $10 starting point for SPACs after a disappointing second-quarter report. The recent crop at AppHarvest’s first facility in Kentucky was marred by historically low tomato prices, and sales were hurt by lower-than-expected quality, the company said.
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Despite a week of general pull-backs in the market, fintech firm Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA) nonetheless took the dive and had a good week debuting via a traditional IPO in the choppy waters. The company, which provides app-based consumer cashback discounts on purchases, priced its IPO at $88, above its proposed range of $76 to $84, and...
At the SPAC of Dawn Happy Friday! SPACInsider has unveiled new presets on SPAC Performance accessible via the Data drop-down to easily sort for the highest and lowest performing active SPACs and de-SPACs. On the de-SPAC side, Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) continues to be well ahead of the pack, logging a 710% return by share price adjusted...
AGBA (NASDAQ:AGBA) stock is up over +90% this morning following a +211% premarket spike on news it has signed a definitive agreement to combine with social streaming video platform Triller. AGBA, the company itself, was formed by the $555 million combination between a SPAC of the same name and TAG Companies, a financial services firm...
At the SPAC of Dawn Since closing its combination with DHC last month, AI customer engagement firm BEN (NASDAQ:BNAI) has rolled out new partnerships with call center and healthcare clients. And, while it faces a fair bit of competition in the chatbot realm, several high-profile institutions have demonstrated that creating one that provides useful services...
Blue Ocean (NASDAQ:BOCN) provided significantly more texture today in the presentation for its $275 million combination with Asian digital media group TNL Mediagene, which it expects to hit profitability in the second half of the year despite a slight shakeup in financing for the transaction. The first big update in the first investor deck is...