Opes Acquisition Corp. Files Definitive Proxy to Extend

Opes Acquisition Corp. (OPES), a Mexico-focused SPAC, filed their definitive proxy tonight ahead of their shareholder vote to extend their completion deadline, scheduled for Monday, September 16th. Previously, OPES had filed their preliminary proxy back on August 23rd, but there were a number of blanks throughout that document.  Now that we have additional information, we have a (slightly) clearer picture.

First up, Opes is only asking for a two-month extension to November 15th.  Not three months, not six months, but only two short months. When you ask for a short extension WITHOUT an announced deal, well, that generally means they’re probably going to announce something ASAP.  However, even if they announce something tomorrow, closing a transaction in two months time is very aggressive.  So it’s still a bit curious.  Why not just ask for three months and give the SPAC some breathing room to close?  Or, could it be that they don’t have a deal yet and they decided that if they can’t lock something up within the next two months, they’d rather throw in the towel?  The former is more likely, but still….that two months is odd.  It’s like trying to finish a jigsaw puzzle and you can’t find the last missing piece.

However, Opes isn’t taking any chances with their cash in trust by providing a straight contribution to trust for shareholders who do not redeem with the contribution being $0.0333 per share per month.  The current estimated redemption value is $10.34 with a trust value of approximately $119 million, but if OPES needs the full two months (which they should), that extra $0.0666 brings it to $10.41 + interest, or approximately $10.43.

In summary, this should be a fairly straightforward extension vote with a minimal amount of redemptions.  However, if OPES doesn’t announce a deal by at least the week after their vote (September 16th), they’re either going to have to extend again or liquidate.  Let’s hope we get some good news.

For reference, the Record Date is August 28th, with a redemption deadline of September 12th.