Payments Recovery Firm MSP Said In Talks With Lionheart SPAC

(Bloomberg) -- MSP Recovery, a company that specializes in the recovery of Medicare and Medicaid secondary payments, is in talks to go public through a merger with Lionheart Acquisition Corp. II, a blank check-firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Any transaction, if agreed, may be announced in coming weeks and could value the combined entity at more than $30 billion, one of the people said. MSP Recovery’s law firm affiliate may separate from its data business, which is in talks to be combined with the Lionheart SPAC, the people said. No terms have been finalized and it’s possible talks could collapse.

A representative for MSP didn’t immediately have a comment. A Lionheart spokesperson declined to comment.

Lionheart, led by Chief Executive Officer Ophir Sternberg, raised $230 million in an August initial public offering. The SPAC said at the time it may focus on “any business, industry, sector or geographical location” but that it intends to merge with a firm “that applies innovative digital technologies and technology-enhanced services and solutions to the identification, design, development, construction, operation, financing, management and disposition of real estate properties.

Sternberg, who was chairman of a SPAC that merged with BurgerFi International Inc., in May teamed up with MSP founder John H. Ruiz to purchase powerboats brand Cigarette Racing Team.

Coral Gables, Florida-based MSP operates a platform that specializes in claims recoveries. It earns a fee only after recovering claims, its website shows. The company, which developed proprietary software, touts its expertise with the Medicare Secondary Payer Act.

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