SPACs face ‘crowded’ market for deals after blistering fundraising push this year, Hong Kong investment firm says
- Soul Ventures using more ‘late-stage, venture capital’ approach with its new SPAC
- Investment firm seeking to list its blank-cheque company on Nasdaq later this year
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are facing a congested market for potential merger targets – particularly those seeking technology unicorns – after an eye-popping amount of fundraising in the first half of this year, according to the Hong Kong-based founder of investment firm Soul Ventures.
Billy So, a co-founder of Soul Ventures, said he was trying to take a more “late-stage, venture capital” approach with a recently created blank-cheque company, by focusing on smaller firms in the US that have the potential to be future unicorns and need help to expand in Asia.
“If the target company is close to US$1 billion or more than US$1 billion, it is really crowded. Why would a unicorn company need to [be in a SPAC merger] with you? Why would they not IPO themselves?,” he said.
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