The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: September 13, 2023
Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Kolors acquires Urbvan from Swvl to transform corporate bus travel in Mexico and Faze Clan loses its hype
Kolors acquires Urbvan to transform corporate bus travel in Mexico
Kolors, a Mexico City-based startup that connects intercity bus riders with bus drivers, is acquiring B2B van pooling provider Urbvan for $12 million cash, the company shared Wednesday.
The purchase of Urbvan, which was previously owned by a Dubai-based Kolors competitor Swvl (NASDAQ:SWVL), brings a door-to-door solution to Kolors’s service in Mexico. Urbvan has a similarly asset-light business model with over 500 vans and shuttles on its platforms and hundreds of B2B clients.
Urbvan is already a profitable and growing business, according to Martínez, so it’s not entirely clear why Swvl would decide to sell. The company acquired Urbvan in July 2022 to expand its reach into Mexico, but sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch Swvl has been selling off parts of its business internationally for the past year as it struggles to stay afloat. Swvl went public in 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.
From $1 Billion to Almost Worthless: FaZe Clan Runs Out of Hype
Three months after its July 2022 debut on the Nasdaq, FaZe Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FAZE) threw an exclusive party at a San Diego nightclub, hiring the rapper Travis Scott to promote its stable of video-game stars and YouTube personalities.
The party, which cost $1.7 million, got the company and a sponsor’s name in hundreds of Google search results, YouTube videos and Instagram stories. Lee Trink, FaZe’s chief executive officer at the time, hailed the event as a great success.
But with losses mounting and the shares tumbling, the company fired Trink, 55, on Sept. 9, replacing him on an interim basis with Chief Financial Officer Christoph Pachler. Interviews with seven former employees describe a mismanaged organization marked by poor spending decisions, excessive pay and expansion into unprofitable categories like esports.
In the first half of 2023, FaZe posted a loss of $28 million. Sales tumbled 30% to $24.2 million.
FaZe became a publicly traded company on July 19, 2022, paying off its debt and receiving $57.8 million in net proceeds, less than originally anticipated. B. Riley Financial Inc. remains the company’s largest stockholder, with a 14% stake worth about $2 million.