Tom Barrack Abandons SPAC IPO Effort Amid Foreign Agent Charges
Tom Barrack Abandons SPAC IPO Effort Amid Foreign Agent Charges
(Bloomberg) -- Tom Barrack’s blank-check firm Falcon Peak Acquisition Corp. is scrapping plans for an initial public offering following his indictment on charges of illegally lobbying for a foreign government.
The special purpose acquisition company on Friday notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was withdrawing its IPO “because the company has elected to abandon the transactions subject thereto.”
Barrack in March unveiled plans to raise $250 million for the vehicle, originally named Falcon Acquisition Corp. It was set to be co-sponsored by venture firm TI Capital Management and Falcon Peak Partners, Barrack’s family office.
A representative for Barrack declined to comment.
Barrack, 74, was arrested Tuesday on charges of working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates in a years-long effort to sway Donald Trump’s foreign policy, even before he became president, according to a seven-count felony indictment unsealed in Brooklyn, New York.
Also charged was 27-year-old Matthew Grimes, a Barrack associate who was set to be president of the SPAC.
The SPAC had planned to lean on Barrack’s experience with “elephant-style” transactions in its search for a merger target in industries including media and entertainment, technology, financial services, wellness, infrastructure and real estate.
Barrack’s SPAC and family office are both named after a falcon, which is also the UAE’s national bird.
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