The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: July 6, 2021

Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web. 

Latest SPAC News: SPACs spark interest in the Middle East, Vertex weighs Singapore’s first SPAC listing, and EV SPAC boom could have been bigger

Mideast SPAC Trickle May Turn to Flood as Dubai’s Shuaa Capital Plans 3 Launches

Dubai financial services firm Shuaa Capital PSC is considering setting up three SPACs of around $200 million each, rapidly opening up the booming market to Gulf investors.

Shuaa, which manages close to $14 billion in assets, approached investment banks to explore setting up the SPACs to pursue deals in the energy, finance and technology sectors, according to Bloomberg.

The blank-check companies are expected to list in the U.S. this year and will target companies in the Middle East and North Africa.

Spotify Rival’s Nasdaq Listing May Herald Mideast SPAC Boom

Spotify Technology SA rival Anghami’s listing via a merger with a blank-check company has triggered a flurry of interest from Middle-Eastern firms exploring similar deals.

Anghami had announced plans to merge with Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. in March. Since then, Vistas says it has got “an overwhelming response” from venture capital, private equity firms and entrepreneurs to explore opportunities.

Temasek’s Vertex Weighs Singapore’s First SPAC Listing

Vertex Holdings Ltd. is planning to raise funds by listing a SPAC in Singapore, which could be the country’s first such deal.

The venture capital holdings company owned by Temasek Holdings Pte is working with advisers on the potential SPAC IPO. Details of the blank-check company including size and timeline haven’t been finalized, pending listing guidelines by Singapore exchange, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. 

The EV SPAC Boom Could Have Been Even Bigger

There are 14 EV manufacturing SPACs which are currently pending and aim to raise a combined $11.8 billion. Lucid Motors is in that group, and it’s looking to bring in more than $4 billion in cash, which would make it the largest EV-related SPAC to date, according to Bloomberg.

One interesting angle to the EV-related SPAC story has gone largely overlooked: quite a few of the EV charging infrastructure companies missed out on the SPAC bonanza. This is due to an early wave of consolidation in charging companies over the last few years in which many of the leading players were acquired by oil and gas companies.

This means that this segment of the EV industry is somewhat underrepresented in the public markets. BNEF tracks over 200 publicly listed equities with high exposure to EVs, from raw materials through to vehicles and chargers. Of those, only 7% of the listed companies are in the charging infrastructure category.

That is starting to change, with some charging companies that have gone the SPAC route, including ChargePoint, EVgo and Nuvve, and several more are pending, including Tritium, EVBox, Wallbox, and Volta.