Motive Capital Corp. (MOTV) Shareholders Approve Forge Global Deal

Motive Capital Corp. (MOTV) Shareholders Approve Forge Global Deal

Motive Capital Corp. (NYSE:MOTV) announced this afternoon that its shareholders have voted to approve its combination with investment marketplace Forge Global, Inc.

Approximately 93.98% of the votes cast at today’s special meeting voted to approve the business combination with Forge.

The press release did not disclose much information on redemptions, but MOTV traded below its trust value of $10 throughout its redemption deadline March 11. Although the SPAC has struggled to break above the $10 mark since last April, it was able to reach a high of $10.30 yesterday.

Motive Capital financed the deal with $414 million from its current trust, a $50 million forward purchase agreement (FPA) and a $69 million PIPE at $10 per share. The PIPE was anchored by a $50 million commitment from the ION Group and contributions from Temasek and Adit Ventures.

The closing of the business combination is expected to take place next Monday, March 21. The combined company will be renamed Forge Global Holdings, Inc., and its common stock and warrants are expected to trade on the NYSE beginning on Tuesday, March 22, under the ticker symbols “FRGE” and “FRGE WS”, respectively.

The parties initially announced their $1.6 billion combination last year on September 13. San Francisco-based Forge provides a platform for users to invest in private companies via tender offers or regular cash-outs by employees and shareholders.


ADVISORS

  • Financial Technology Partners and FTP Securities (FT Partners) served as financial advisors to Forge.
  • JMP Securities LLC, Piper Sandler, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., and William Blair & Company, LLC acted as capital markets advisors to Forge.
  • Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to Forge.
  • UBS Investment Bank is serving as financial advisor to Motive Capital Corp.
  • Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal advisor and Oliver Wyman served as a strategic advisor to Motive Capital Corp.
  • UBS Investment Bank and J.P. Morgan are serving as capital markets advisors and placement agents to Motive Capital Corp.
  • Mayer Brown LLP acted as legal advisor to the placement agents.