Blackstone in talks to merge Alight with Bill Foley's SPAC

New York

BLACKSTONE Group Inc is in talks to merge Alight Solutions LLC with Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp, a blank-cheque special acquisition firm backed by investor Bill Foley, Reuters reported.

The merger would lead to Alight, a benefits administrator business, becoming a publicly-listed firm at a valuation of more than US$8 billion, the report said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Talks may not lead to a deal, they said.

Matthew Anderson, a spokesman for Blackstone, declined to comment, while representatives for Alight didn't respond to an emailed request. A Foley spokesman didn't immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Alight, based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, provides human-resource support services like payroll, health benefits and employee communications for large companies in 188 countries, according to its website. It employs more than 15,000.

The company was a division of Aon Plc until Blackstone bought it in 2017 in a transaction valued as much as US$4.8 billion. Since then, Alight has acquired several other human-resources and technology companies. Last year, it postponed plans for an US$800 million initial public offering just before final pricing.

High-profile business figures have increasingly turned to special purpose acquisition companies - SPACs - as a way to pursue dealmaking. Blank-cheque companies have raised about US$80 billion this year, eclipsing previous records, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Mr Foley, 76, is a veteran investor who's helped build and lead companies including Fidelity National Financial Inc, the largest US title insurance firm. In May, his Foley Trasimene raised US$900 million in an IPO. The entity was formed to identify businesses in fintech or process outsourcing with high recurring revenue and cash flow and strong market positions, according to its registration statement. BLOOMBERG