Blast From the Past: China SPAC IPO Filing (PACQ, AUTC)

SPACs, the special purpose acquisition companies, were very popular during the private equity bubble and before the recession took hold.  You hardly ever hear about them now.  This week brought on a new SPAC filing to come public, with the focal region being in the Greater China Region.

Prime Acquisition Corp. has filed to raise $40 million in stock and warrant units at $10.00 a piece, but the filing is actually for more if you look at the details.  The maximum proposed aggregate securities offering is listed as $70.495 million.  The company has also applied to list its units, ordinary shares and redeemable warrants on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the “PACQ” ticker.

Prime Acquisition Corp. is a newly formed exempted company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands.  The company is a blank check company that will acquire (through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase or similar business combination, or control through contractual arrangements) one or more operating businesses.  The company says that it is not limited to any particular geographic region or any specific industry, but it also says that it will focus on operating companies in the Greater China region (China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).

This is the initial public offering of our units. Each unit has a public offering price of $10.00 per unit and consists of one ordinary share, par value $0.001 per share, and one-half of a redeemable warrant. Each full redeemable warrant entitles the holder to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $7.50.

Management is deeply tied to and has deep overlaps with AutoChina International Ltd. (NASDAQ: AUTC) and other public companies.  Its Chairman & CEO, Yong Hui Li, has the same position at both companies, and others are tied to each company as well.  The underwriters are listed as Chardan Capital Markets, Rodman & Renshaw, and Maxim Group.  Its full SEC filing from this week is available.

JON C. OGG