RIYADH: FIM Partners, the frontier and emerging markets asset manager backed by EFG Hermes, is considering listing a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the US, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Dubai-based investment firm could seek about $250 million for the blank-check company, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is advising on the potential deal, they said.
A blank check company is a publicly-traded business that has no defined business plan which may be used to raise capital as a startup or be merged with another entity.
FIM Partners has not set a timeline for any listing, and it could decide to wait before proceeding with a deal given the turmoil in the SPAC market, the people said.
FIM Partners is led by CEO Hedi Ben Mlouka, a former Merrill Lynch banker who previously ran Duet Group’s frontier markets investing arm.
Discussions are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction, the people said, according to Bloomberg.
A representative for FIM Partners didn’t have any immediate comment. A spokesperson for JPMorgan declined to comment.
EFG Hermes-backed FIM eyes blank-check deal in US
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EFG Hermes-backed FIM eyes blank-check deal in US
- Discussions are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction
No Saudi acquisition offers: FC Barcelona tells Al-Eqtisadiah
CAIRO: FC Barcelona has not received any offers, whether from Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to acquire the club, according to an official source who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah.
According to the source, the circulating news regarding the possibility of finalizing a deal to acquire the club in the coming period is a mere rumor.
Recent Spanish reports had indicated the possibility of a Saudi acquisition of Barcelona shares for around €10 billion ($11.7 billion), a move considered capable of saving the club from its financial crises if it were to happen, especially as it suffers from debts estimated at around €2.5 billion.
Sale not in management’s hands
Joan Gaspart, the former president of the club, confirmed that the current board of directors, chaired by Joan Laporta, does not have the right to dispose of the club’s ownership.
He added: “FC Barcelona is owned by about 150,000 members, and selling the club is something the owners will not accept. FC Barcelona possesses something no other club in the world has; money is very important, and so is passion, but the sentiment of the members today is to continue what the club has been for 125 years.”
High market value
Despite the financial crisis the club has been going through in recent years, FC Barcelona ranks sixth on the list of the world’s highest market value clubs, with an estimated value of €1.12 billion, according to Transfermarkt. Meanwhile, its rival Real Madrid tops the list with a market value of €1.38 billion.
