This afternoon, we had yet another new SPAC filing, making the count four (4) for deals on file to IPO.  Furthermore, that means that if all four price in October, we will match 2018’s deal count of 46. It also means we are very, very close to matching the 2018 total gross proceeds figure of $10.752 billion, i.e., if all four price (without over-allotments) SPACs will have raised $10.695 billion in 2019 year-to-date. However, what do we have on deck with today’s new SPAC filing?

For starters, the name is Galileo Acquisition Corp. (GLEO.U), a $100 million SPAC focused on “the consumer, retail, food & beverage, specialty industrial, technology or medtech sectors which are headquartered in Western Europe, with an emphasis on Italian family-owned businesses, portfolio companies of private equity funds, or corporate spin-offs, and that have significant North American exports and a clearly defined North American high growth strategy.”  That’s a real kitchen sink, so for simplicity’s sake, let’s just say “Western Europe/Italy”.

Additionally, Galileo will be led by Luca Giacometti, who has previously been involved with four European-listed SPACs and has the distinction of launching the first blank check company under Italian law in 2011 (Made in Italy).

• 2017 – Glenalta (merged with CFT S.p.A.)
• 2015 – Glenalta Food (merged with Orsero S.p.A.),
• 2014 – IPO Challenger (merged with Italian Wine Brands S.p.A.),
• 2011 – Made in Italy 1 (merged with SeSa S.p.A.)

Apparently, Italian SPACs are all the rage and even Bob Diamond (the former Barclays chief executive) had one called “SPAXs“. But are Italian SPACs similar to U.S. listed ones? Hard to say.  In the interest of time, I’ve only done a cursory bit of research on Italian SPACs (will be looking more closely soon), but the premise appears to be the same.  It’s the investor base that’s probably going to be quite different though and that is really the crucial thing that matters.  U.S. SPAC investors are a different breed and they can be tough on both on the front end as well as the back end. However, looking at the terms, we see that Galileo is a 21 months (+ 3 months with a definitive agreement), 1 full warrant, 100% in trust SPAC.  It’s a fairly uncomplicated structure, straightforward, and they are looking at a broad swath of sectors within Western Europe and more specifically, Italy.  On the surface, without hearing the team’s pitch, these terms seem sell-able.

More to come after doing a bit more research on Italian SPACs. For now, summary of terms below: