Catcha's Patrick Grove eyeing Singapore SPAC after taking blank-cheque firm public in the US

[SINGAPORE] Patrick Grove, an Internet entrepreneur, is weighing listing a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter, joining the race to be the first to sponsor blank-cheque vehicles under the new rules unveiled by the city-state last week.

The chairman of Catcha Group, an Internet-focused investment company in South-east Asia, has had discussions with Singapore Exchange about a potential listing, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. The Australian businessman already took his blank-cheque firm named Catcha Investment Corp public in the US earlier this year, raising US$300 million.

Deliberations are at an early stage and the plan and details haven't been finalised yet, the people said. Mr Grove declined to comment.

Singapore Exchange is "heartened" by the market's response and it continues to "actively engage" with potential sponsors, Mohamed Nasser Ismail, the bourse's global head of equity capital markets said without commenting on the talks.

Mr Grove is among several aspirants after Singapore opened its doors for SPAC listings on Sept 3 and became the first Asian financial hub to host the structures.

European alternative asset manager Tikehau Capital SCA is in advanced stages of preparations, Bloomberg News reported on Sept 7, while others interested include Turmeric Capital, Novo Tellus Capital Partners and Temasek's Vertex Holdings.

Mr Grove is one of the earliest tech entrepreneurs in South-east Asia, and Catcha Group recently became a shareholder in Malaysian used-car marketplace Carsome Group, boosting the six-year-old startup's valuation to more than US$1 billion.

As interest in SPACs picks up in Singapore, enthusiasm among some companies may be waning elsewhere. Indonesian online travel giant Traveloka halted talks to go public through a deal with Bridgetown Holdings, a blank cheque-company backed by billionaires Richard Li and Peter Thiel, Bloomberg News reported this week.

BLOOMBERG

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