Last night there was a filing from Gabelli Entertainment & Telecommunications Acquisition Corp. to come public via an initial public offering for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or a blank-check company. This is for a sale of $200 million in units with each unit consisting of 1 share of common stock and one warrant with a $7.50 strike price. This has ties to GAMCO Investors Inc. (NYSE: GBL) and even to Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) via an ex-CFO.
Gabelli Entertainment & Telecommunications Acquisition Corp. is anewly organized blank check company formed toacquire or merge withone or more operating businesses or assets in the media, entertainment,telecommunications or financial services industries.
Underwriter Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. has been given a 45-dayover-allotment option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units.The listing is set to occur on the American Stock Exchange, yet noticker has been designated.
As you likely guessed by the name, Mario Gabelli is the Chairman, and the CEOis listed as Frederic Salerno. For those of you who do not knowSalerno by name, he was CFO and Vice Chairman of Verizon (NYSE: VZ)until he retired in 2002. Mario Gabelli is of course the founder ofGAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL).
What is interesting about this one is that certain corporate officershave also formed another SPAC which is meant to come public at the same time.
Jon C. Ogg
August 5, 2008
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