Flexjet plans to go public via $3 bln deal with Todd Boehly's SPAC (updated)

Sportradar AG

11/10/2022 12:38

(Adds details on the deal, background)
       Oct 11 (Reuters) - Private jet service Flexjet is
planning to merge with Todd Boehly's blank-check firm Horizon
Acquisition Corp. II  HZON.N , it said on Tuesday, in a deal
that will value the combined company at $3.1 billion, including
debt.
    Flexjet provides a fractional jet ownership and leasing to
ultra high net worth individuals on a subscription-based model
and will list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol 'FXJ'.  
    The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of next
year. The proceeds would be used to fund fleet, program and
geographic expansion as well as to improve maintenance support
facilities and private terminals.  
    Boehly, one of the owners of Chelsea Football Club and the
founder of Greenwich, Connecticut-based Eldridge Industries, is
a prolific investor in special purpose acquisition companies, or
SPACs, with some big bets.
    His SPAC, Horizon Acquisition Corp II, raised $500 million
through an initial public offering in 2020. In March that year,
it offered to merge with Sportradar Group AG  SRAD.O , valuing
the Swiss sports gambling data company at $10 billion. 
    But the company chose to go public via the traditional route
a year later at $8 billion valuation.  
    Over the last two years, the SPAC market has soured due to
its poor financial performance and a regulatory crackdown by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 
    In recent months, high profile SPAC investors William Ackman
and Chamath Palihapitiya have said they will return money to
shareholders after they failed to find suitable merger targets.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2YS38Q urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N30R36B
 (Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber and Arun Koyyur)
 ((Mehnaz.Yasmin@thomsonreuters.com;))