Primavera, ABCI  Weighing to Join Hong Kong SPAC Race, Sources Say

(Bloomberg) -- Buyout firm Primavera Capital and the investing arm of ABC International Holdings Ltd. are considering forming a blank-check company to list in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Asian financial hub prepares to welcome the first such vehicles to its stock exchange.

ABCI’s investment banking arm and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are working on the special purpose acquisition company’s potential initial public offering, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The SPAC could raise a few hundred million dollars, and could target a merger with a firm in the consumer sector, they said.

Deliberations are ongoing and the sponsors could decide not to proceed with a SPAC, the person said. Representatives for Primavera, ABCI and JPMorgan declined to comment.

Hong Kong’s rulebook for blank-check companies was unveiled in December and came into effect on Jan. 1, months after its regional rival Singapore set the terms of its own, less stringent regime. Hong Kong’s exchange barred retail investors from buying shares in its SPACs and imposed a fundraising threshold of HK$1 billion ($128 million).

Even a hint of last year’s short-lived frenzy around SPACs in the U.S. would be welcomed by Hong Kong’s bourse. The exchange saw a significant slowdown in IPOs in the second half of last year amid a crackdown in China and slumping share prices. Companies raised $42.7 billion in Hong Kong IPOs last year, a 17% drop from 2020, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

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