Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund, Chimera to List Middle East’s First SPAC
Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund, Chimera to List Middle East’s First SPAC
(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi is gearing up to host the Middle East’s first blank-check listing, even as regulatory pressures and dismal returns put the brakes on the trend in New York.
ADC Acquisition Corp., backed by Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund ADQ and Chimera Investments, plans to raise 367 million dirhams ($100 million), according to a statement. The special purpose acquisition company will target firms in the Middle East and North Africa that are technology-driven and have attractive valuations.
Chimera Capital is part of a business empire overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed, who is also chairman of ADQ. Sheikh Tahnoon is the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser and brother to Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.
SPACs boomed in the U.S. during the pandemic, but poor trading and intensifying regulatory oversight have stalled the market. Still, exchanges from London to Hong Kong, and more recently Abu Dhabi, have sought to jump on the bandwagon by setting up or revamping regulatory frameworks for blank-check listings.
Regulators approved the Abu Dhabi bourse’s new SPAC rules in January, the first in the Middle East to do so. Neighboring Dubai has also proposed a general framework for blank-check firms, while Saudi Arabia’s bourse is considering whether to allow them, its chief executive said last year.
Still, investors may not be as keen on SPACs. The two Middle Eastern companies that have gone public in the U.S. through mergers with blank-check firms have faced high redemption rates from investors and volatile trading.
Swvl Holdings Corp., a Dubai-based mass transit startup, has sunk 45% since the start of this month after merging with Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, while Middle Eastern Spotify Technology SA rival Anghami Inc. has dropped 67% from a February high.
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