Omeed Malik, Former BofA Executive, Is Said to Join SPAC Frenzy

(Bloomberg) -- Omeed Malik, the former Bank of America Corp. managing director who received a multimillion-dollar sum to settle a defamation suit against the firm, is the latest Wall Street executive seeking to raise a special purpose acquisition company.

Malik, 41, who co-founded merchant bank Farvahar Partners, will be chairman and chief executive officer of the vehicle, dubbed Colombier Acquisition Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter. The SPAC’s chief financial officer is set to be Joe Voboril, a Farvahar co-founder and former BofA executive, the people said.

Colombier will seek about $200 million in an initial public offering, and target companies in the consumer, media and technology sectors, the people said. The SPAC may file paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as Friday.

Colombier will be sponsored by principals from Farvahar and Torch Capital, as well as Mark Klein’s SuRo Capital Corp. Its board is set to include Torch’s Jonathan Keidan; Memo founder Eddie Kim; Relativity Media founder Ryan Kavanaugh; and SuRo’s Keri Findley and Claire Councill, the people said.

A representative for Colombier declined to comment.

Farvahar was an underwriter on Michael Klein’s most recent blank-check vehicles, Churchill Capital Corp. V, VI and VII, filings show. The firm has raised capital for companies including Boxed, Blink Health and Bollinger Motors, according to Pitchbook data.

Malik is known on Wall Street and beyond. In 2018, he appeared on Showtime’s “Billions” in a dinner scene that also featured Marc Lasry, Michael Platt and Michael Karsch.

SPAC mania has reached new heights in 2021. In the year to date, more than 400 blank-check firms have filed to go public on U.S. exchanges, seeking to raise a combined $124 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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