(Reuters) – A blank check acquisition company backed by veteran investor Bill Foley is nearing a deal to make public Alight Solutions LLC, the US asset services provider owned by buying firm Blackstone Group Inc. , at a valuation of $ 7.3 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.
The agreement illustrates how Alight has become an attractive investment target during the COVID-19 pandemic, capitalizing on the outsourcing of human resources functions by many companies looking to save costs to preserve capital.
The transaction calls for Alight to merge with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp., and could be announced as early as Monday, sources said, requesting anonymity because the negotiations are confidential.
Blackstone declined to comment, while Alight and Foley Trasimene did not respond to requests for comment.
Purchasing companies have traditionally charged for their investments by selling companies directly or making them public. Light’s potential deal underscores how Blackstone sees SPACs as a viable alternative.
Headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Alight offers cloud-based benefit and human resource management services to businesses, including 70% of Fortune 100, which serves 188 countries, according to its website.
It was acquired by Blackstone in 2017 from insurance broker Aon Plc, in a deal that valued it at $ 4.8 billion.
Blackstone made an initial public offering of Light’s $ 800 million two years ago, but abandoned the effort amid concerns that it would not get the terms it was looking for.
Foley Trasimene raised $ 900 million in a IPO last May to merge with a private company. Like all SPACs, he did not tell investors in advance what this company would be like.
The deal will be the second involving Blackstone and a Foley SPAC in recent weeks. The private equity firm and its partner CVC Capital Partners announced last month that they would merge Paysafe Group with Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp II in a transaction that valued the payment processor at $ 9 billion.
Report by David French in New York; Edited by Matthew Lewis