Capital Calls: Rocket spins into U.S. SPAC

Rocket Internet SE

09/02/2021 10:37

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are their own.)
    LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Concise insights on
global finance in the Covid-19 era.
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FLY HIGHER. Europe’s best-known incubator looks to have taken
Samuel Beckett’s adage of “fail again; fail better”, famously
co-opted by wannabe techies, to heart. Rocket Internet  RKET.H 
and serial entrepreneur boss Oliver Samwer may cash in on the
mania for special purpose acquisition vehicles – only in the
U.S. rather than Europe  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2IO53Z, according to a German
media report https://financefwd.com/de/rocket-internet-spac.
 
    A move across the pond – where 248 SPACs listed last year,
according to Dealogic data - is unsurprising given Rocket’s
SPAC-like characteristics: it raised around 1.4 billion euros in
2014  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2FY166 at a price of 42.50 euros to invest in
fast-growing startups. It nevertheless underwhelmed European
investors: dismal share performance saw Samwer offer https://www.rocket-internet.com/news/ad-hoc-rocket-internet-se-decides-on-launch-of-public-delisting-self-tender-offer-and-convenes-extraordinary-general-meeting-parallel-share-buyback-program
 to buy out minorities and pull the plug on Rocket’s German
stock market listing last September. In keeping with Beckett’s
adage, however, Rocket has not yet succeeded even in this modest
aim: Shares traded at 23.80 euros on Tuesday morning, a 28%
premium to Rocket’s offer, implying holdouts are pushing for a
higher price. (By Christopher Thomson)

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