Hotel101 [link], the global “condotel” subsidiary of Injap Sia’s Double Dragon [DD 9.10, up 8.5%; 585% avgVol], announced that it signed a definitive merger agreement with the British Virgin Island-registered JBSPAC Acquisition Corp. (JVSA), with the intent of listing the merged entity on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol “HBNB”. Hotel101 said that HBNB is “expected to have an equity value of over US$ 2.3 billion” following the IPO, which Hotel101 expects to happen “during the second half of 2024”.
MB bottom-line: SPACs are a weird little device that acts as a two-step backdoor listing mechanism. It allows the listing company to “snipe” its listing date because it can be 80% quicker than the traditional IPO process which can take 12-18 months. They were all the rage during the US-based COVID pump when low interest rates and high levels of speculation conspired to give potential SPACs a hot (and profitable) market. While that shine has largely worn off, the recent listing of Donald Trump’s SPAC, Trump Media, under the ticker “DJT” (his initials), has somewhat reignited interest in these oddball listing vehicles. They can have some wild price action.
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