Arnault’s investment holding company, Financière Agache, joins forces with French asset manager Tikehau Capital and two high-profile European bankers to launch a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that will seek deals in the services sector European financiers.
Tikehau Capital said in a statement on Monday that potential targets include asset management platforms, fintech technology companies, insurance services and diversified financial services companies. The focus will be on “scalable platforms that offer strong profit growth potential,” he added, indicating that this will be the first of several SPACs he plans to launch.
Jean-Pierre Mustier, former CEO of the Italian bank UniCredit (UNCFF), and Diego De Giorgi, former head of global investment banking at bank of america (BAC) Merrill Lynch, will be the operating partner of the company, said Tikehau Capital.
SPACs or companies that check blank raise capital by going public to buy existing companies. They used to be a dark part of the market, but they have become very popular. Last year, 229 SPACs in the United States raised $ 76 billion, up from $ 13 billion in 2019, according to Goldman Sachs. A series of new presentations this year, including those of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Rocket Internet co-founder Oliver Samwer, indicate the pace is not getting.
Although European stock exchanges have so far largely lost the boom, there are first signs that the market is beginning to take off in the region.
Tikehau Capital did not provide details on the amount its SPAC intends to increase, saying only that the four sponsors plan to collectively invest at least 10% of that amount. Arnault has a net worth of $ 114 billion, making him the fourth richest person in the world and the richest person in Europe, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The SPAC will go public in Amsterdam, the latest in a series of victories for the Dutch city exchange. Euronext Amsterdam is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the changes that make it impossible for EU financial institutions to trade European stocks on UK stock exchanges after Brexit.
– Julia Horowitz contributed to the reportg.
