Freedom Acquisition filed an amended S-1 this morning and bumped the size of their offering up from $300 million to $400 million.
sec.gov
Freedom Acquisition Plans IPO
Friday December 15, 2:35 pm ET
Freedom Acquisition, a "Blank Check" Company, Plans $300 Million Initial Public Offering
NEW YORK (AP) -- Freedom Acquisition Holdings Inc., a company with no products or customers, plans to raise $300 million in an initial public offering to buy other companies.
Freedom Acquisition Holdings is a "blank check" company, meaning its owners created it solely to raise money to buy one or more existing companies within two years of the initial public offering.
Private investment funds Berggruen Holdings North America Ltd. and Marlin Equities II LLC are selling shares in the vehicle letting investors bet on the funds' ability to turn a profit through acquiring other businesses.
Freedom Acquisition Holdings said it hasn't yet contacted any potential targets about an acquisition. The company plans to buy businesses worth $500 million to $1.5 billion in the U.S. and Western Europe, though it may look outside those regions.
Berggruen Holdings has made 50 private equity investments in the past 20 years, mostly in consumer goods, services, light manufacturing, distribution, telecommunications and media. Marlin Equities has engaged in more than 75 transactions.
Stock in the blank check company will trade under the ticker "FRH" on the American Stock Exchange. The company hopes to sell 30 million shares at $10 each.
A similar company, Marathon Acquisitions Corp., went public earlier this year, raising $300 million for acquisitions. As of Sept. 30, the company, created by private equity fund Apollo Management LP, said it was still evaluating potential targets and hadn't announced any transactions.
biz.yahoo.com |
