SoHo Advisors launching event to match 10 US SPACs with over US$2b with Asia-Pacific targets

SOHO Advisors, a Singapore-based fintech investment bank, is launching a virtual event to connect US-listed special purpose acquisition companies' (SPACs) sponsors with target companies in the Asia-Pacific.

The event, which plans to connect 10 regional targets with 10 US-listed SPAC sponsors - with at least US$200 million each - will be the "first US-Asia-Pacific SPAC trade mission", Frank Troise, chief executive of SoHo Advisors, told The Business Times (BT).

The target companies will be leading unicorns in the region, across sectors such as ride-sharing, e-commerce and healthcare, he said, adding that government officials from the US Department of Commerce will also attend and speak at the event.

Mr Troise noted that the event, scheduled for May 4, is oversubscribed, with 91 US-listed SPAC sponsors - representing over US$48 billion in capital - and 32 regional targets currently interested in attending.

Also known as a blank-cheque company, an SPAC is a shell entity formed by a group of investors - known as sponsors - who raise capital from other investors via an initial public offering (IPO). The purpose is to acquire a target business within a set time frame.

The fundraising structure has surged in popularity on Wall Street over the past year, with around US$170 billion raised across some 500 SPACs, according to Bloomberg data.

BT previously reported that there is growing interest among US-listed SPACs to acquire South-east Asian tech firms, thanks to investors' hunt for growth amid a slowing global economy,

Mr Troise said SoHo is already involved with most of the deals in the region. "Our objective is to accelerate the SPAC conversation and help the region's top private companies efficiently evaluate the viability of a SPAC process."

He likened the event to a "SPAC-off", where SPACs and targets are in a position to quickly talk with one another to determine if there is a fit.

"The good news for the SPACs is they know immediately whether or not there's a deal," he said. "It's not something that takes weeks to come to a conclusion, it literally takes days."

SoHo said it has also partnered the big four firms for "IPO readiness assessments" so that targets can determine whether they are actually ready for an SPAC listing process, which can help accelerate the deal process.

The final list of participants would be decided around two weeks before the event, but Mr Troise said they will not be able to disclose the exact participants due to confidentiality.

Robson Lee, partner at global law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, said the event to connect sponsors and founders is a creative entrepreneurial initiative.

"I see this as helpful to the global industry to facilitate a quick listing," he said, adding that it would be better than simply having market participants find each other by word of mouth.

However, he added that it will be important for the SPACs' sponsors and the founding owners and managers of a target company to take responsibility for forecasts and material information, with proper valuation and due diligence carried out.

He noted it would be helpful if similar initiatives are formed for Singapore SPACs -- if they are allowed in future -- to allow them to link up with global targets.

Mr Troise said that the May 4 event would be the first event, with SoHo planning another two events before year-end. "As long as rates remain at, or near, where they are, we see SPACs as an efficient option for companies in the Asia-Pacific to consider."

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