The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: March 27, 2023

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

Latest SPAC News:  Faze Clan considers going private, Richard Branson sits out Virgin Orbit’s flameout, and Tempo Automation to acquire Optimum Design Associates

Faze Clan considers going private amid financial concerns

Esports giant Faze Clan (NASDAQ:FAZE) is considering a restructure that would see it go private as it continues to struggle financially, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ).

The gaming organisation went public last July after completing a merger with the B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp (BRPM) SPAC. At the time, the newly combined company called Faze Holdings was valued at $725 million.

However, it has seen its stock price decline significantly, putting itself at risk of being delisted by the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Billionaire Branson Sits Out Virgin Orbit’s Costly Flameout

Richard Branson, 72, whose Virgin Group has pumped more than $1 billion into Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB) – including $60 million in the past six months — hasn’t recently put in the money now needed to prop up the venture. That’s forcing the company to speak to external investors such as little-known Texas-based venture capital funder Matthew Brown, who has been touting himself as a possible savior of a business that was worth billions just a year ago.

Branson’s reserve coincides with growing caution among investors in an industry in which the technical risks are as high as the costs to surmount them. It marks a reversal for the businessman, a pioneer of the Covid-era SPAC boom for space companies that used the SPAC approach to provide startups with a rapid route to the public markets — potentially before they were ready for the scrutiny that comes with it.

Tempo Automation Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Optimum Design Associates Extending Its Accelerated Manufacturing Platform to Electronic Design Services

Tempo Automation Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMP), a leading software-accelerated electronics manufacturer, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Optimum Design Associates, Inc. and Optimum Design Associates Pty. Ltd., a fast-growing electronic design services company with offices in the United States and Australia that has delivered over 10,000 printed circuit board (PCB) designs to blue-chip customers.

By vertically integrating electronic design and manufacturing, Tempo expects to be able to engage with customers even earlier in their product design process, streamlining the hardware development journey and providing a more efficient and faster way to get electronic products to market. The anticipated benefits of the acquisition include access to Optimum’s experienced engineering team and cross-selling opportunities to expand the customer base. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

ACE Convergence closed its deal with Tempo in November 2022.

ARKO Corp. Urges Travel Center of America’s Board to Consider Superior Acquisition Proposal

ARKO Corp. (Nasdaq: ARKO) (“ARKO”), a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest convenience store operators in the United States, today issued a letter urging Travel Centers of America’s (NASDAQ: TA) (“TravelCenters”) Board to seriously consider ARKO’s proposal to acquire TravelCenters and engage with, rather than exclude, ARKO in the sale process.

ARKO de-SPAC’d with Haymaker II in December 2020.