Martin E. Franklin blank-check firm raises $550 mln in London IPO (updated)

Eureking SA

17/05/2023 10:01

(Add detail)
       May 17 (Reuters) - Admiral Acquisition  ADMR.L , a
blank-cheque firm co-founded by dealmaker Martin E. Franklin,
raised $550 million in an initial public offering (IPO) on
Wednesday, making it Britain's largest stock market listing in
more than a year.
    Admiral said it would use the funds to acquire a company,
without constraints around geography or industry. Jefferies and
UBS coordinated the share offering.
    Blank-cheque firms, also known as special purpose
acquisition companies (SPACs), rose in popularity in 2020 and
2021, but have lost lustre since.
    By merging with a cash-shell vehicle, businesses can become
publicly traded without having to go through an IPO process
themselves.
    Franklin is known as a pioneer in the world of SPACs having
launched several such vehicles, including J2 Acquisition, which
raised $1.25 billion in a London IPO in 2017.
    However, some blank-cheque companies have been forced to
liquidate after struggling to find a suitable acquisition and
being hit by investor redemptions.    
    Last year, only 20 SPACs were listed in Europe versus 45 in
2021, according to data provider Dealogic.
    Admiral's listing comes a day after French SPAC eureKING
 KINGSS.PA  said it was in exclusive negotiations to acquire
Skyepharma, a contract development and manufacturing
organisation (CDMO) in the healthcare space.
    eureKING began trading on the Paris bourse a year ago after
raising 150 million euros ($165 million) from investors.
    ($1 = 0.9084 euros)

 (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Andres Gonzalez and
Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro in London, Editing by Savio D'Souza and
Mark Potter)
 ((Eva.Mathews@thomsonreuters.com;))