Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Virgin Galactic appoints new top lawyer, Trump Media SPAC rises after investors approve merger deadline extension, and Al Maadeed to be first Qatari to list company on NYSE
Virgin Galactic, Preparing for Liftoff, Appoints New Top Lawyer
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPCE), a commercial spaceflight company backed by billionaire Richard Branson which combined with Social Capital Hedosophia Acquisition Corp., has named Sarah Kim its chief legal officer and corporate secretary.
Kim, who has been general counsel for the newly-merged Topgolf Callaway Brands Inc., will take on those roles as of Dec. 5, Virgin Galactic announced this week. She succeeds former legal chief Michelle Kley, who left Virgin Galactic in July.
READTrump Media SPAC Rises After Investors Approve Merger Deadline Extension
Shares of the SPAC attempting to take public Donald Trump’s social-media company rose more than 5% in afternoon trading after investors extended the deadline for the deal to be completed to September 2023.
The SPAC, Digital World Acquisition (NASDAQ:DWAC), had tried several times in recent weeks to secure the approval of 65% of its investors to extend the deadline, but was unable to do so until Tuesday.
READAl Maadeed first Qatari to list his company on NYSE
Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company founded by a Qatari Sultan al-Maadeed, has listed its newly acquired Babylon Holdings Limited in the New York Stock Exchange.
This makes al-Maadeed the first Qatari and Gulf national to establish an American company to be listed on the American stock exchange. The Babylon Holdings Limited has been listed under the ticker symbol ‘BBLN’.
READMENA fintech hubs are channelling funds into the sector but need to keep momentum
The fintech sector in the Middle East and Africa Region (MENA) has already raised $1.73 billion in the first half of 2022, as per a report by global strategy consulting business Strategy&. In 2021, the sector raised $2.5 billion in funding.
The amount of fintech investment in the MENA region reached $448 million in 2021 across 108 transactions. There were also four fintech “exits”—the highest for a single year. A fintech exit includes IPOs, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), mergers, and acquisitions.
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AGBA (NASDAQ:AGBA) stock is up over +90% this morning following a +211% premarket spike on news it has signed a definitive agreement to combine with social streaming video platform Triller. AGBA, the company itself, was formed by the $555 million combination between a SPAC of the same name and TAG Companies, a financial services firm...
At the SPAC of Dawn Since closing its combination with DHC last month, AI customer engagement firm BEN (NASDAQ:BNAI) has rolled out new partnerships with call center and healthcare clients. And, while it faces a fair bit of competition in the chatbot realm, several high-profile institutions have demonstrated that creating one that provides useful services...
Blue Ocean (NASDAQ:BOCN) provided significantly more texture today in the presentation for its $275 million combination with Asian digital media group TNL Mediagene, which it expects to hit profitability in the second half of the year despite a slight shakeup in financing for the transaction. The first big update in the first investor deck is...
At the SPAC of Dawn A brand new market may have just opened up for space de-SPACs as NASA administrator Bill Nelson announced a shift in the agency’s $11 billion program for a mission to return samples from Mars. Rather than rely on the agency’s internal technologies that would be predicted to get a sample...
Overall deal flow between SPACs and biotech firms has slowed over the last year, but some pending FDA changes could breathe new life into particular business models within the space. In particular, the FDA has asked Congress as part of its 2025 Legislative Proposals to eliminate the interchangeability designation for biosimilar medications, claiming the existing...