The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: November 16, 2021

Below is a daily summary of links to theca latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web. 

Latest SPAC News: Grab’s ride-hailing service disrupted across Southeast Asia, Swiss bourse to allow SPACs, and Swvl acquires ViaPool

Grab Suffers Hours-Long App Outage Ahead of Landmark SPAC Debut

Grab Holdings Inc., Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and delivery giant, malfunctioned for hours across much of the region on Tuesday, an outage that comes just before the startup is slated to go public in one of the largest SPAC mergers.

Though Grab said late in the day that it had restored “core services,” users in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines were still reporting problems using the app as of Tuesday evening. Disruptions emerged early Tuesday morning.

The Singapore-based company is preparing to merge with Altimeter Growth Corp. (NASDAQ:AGC). Grab has postponed the $40 billion deal — announced in April and one of the largest-ever mergers with a SPAC — to the fourth quarter as it works on an audit of the past three years’ accounts. The company reiterated last week it expects the deal to complete this quarter.

Swiss Join Europe’s SPAC Ride in Slow Lane

The Swiss are belatedly joining the SPAC party. Swiss bourse operator SIX on Tuesday approved brand new listing standards for SPACs. Such vehicles will be able to list in Switzerland from Dec. 6, later than in rival European venues, which collectively saw $3.9 billion of proceeds by the end of May.

The Swiss, like other European markets, are focusing on investor protection. Swiss SPAC vehicles will be subject to stricter disclosure requirements than regular listed companies, says SIX.

Swvl Acquires ViaPool in Follow-Up to Queen’s Gambit SPAC Tie-Up

Swvl Inc., a Dubai-based ride sharing startup, is buying a controlling stake in Latin American mass transit company ViaPool, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg News.

While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, the transaction values ViaPool at about $10 million.

The deal will bring Swvl into Argentina and Chile for the first time.

ViaPool’s acquisition by Swvl is its second since it announced plans in July to go public through a merger with the all-female led blank-check company Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital (NASDAQ:GMBT). The company has said that deal is expected to close this quarter.

Judge Rejects Nikola Founder’s Bid to Dismiss or Move U.S. Criminal Fraud Case

A U.S. judge on Monday refused to dismiss a federal indictment charging Nikola Corp’s (NASDAQ:NKLA) billionaire founder Trevor Milton with defrauding investors about the electric- and hydrogen-powered truck maker’s technology.

U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos rejected Milton’s claim that he should not have been indicted in New York for securities fraud and wire fraud because his alleged lies were in Arizona and Utah, where he lives, and the case belonged there if at all.

Milton founded Phoenix-based Nikola in 2014 and was chief executive until June 2020, when it went public after merging with a SPAC.