AA Mission Acquisition, a blank cheque company focused on Asian businesses, announced raising $300 million in its initial public offering in the US.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) offered 30 million units at $10 apiece in the IPO, each consisting of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant.
The units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the ticker symbol “AAMU” from August 1, 2024, according to the announcement.
In its earlier filing, the SPAC said that while it intends to focus its search on businesses in Asia with enterprise values between $500 million and $3 billion, it is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating an initial business combination.
“Because our management team has a substantial network in the People’s Republic of China, we may pursue a business combination with a company doing business in China, which may have legal and operational risks associated with such a decision,” the SPAC said.
The blank cheque company added that its management team and board of directors will identify and acquire a business focused on the food & beverage industry.
AA Mission Acquisition is led by CEO and Chairman Qing Sun, whose current roles include serving as Chairman of Guizhou JS Investment and President of the Hainan Economic Research Institute.
SPACs, also known as blank cheque companies, raise capital via traditional IPOs to acquire a privately-held company. A merger with the publicly traded SPAC provides a private company with a cheap and fast listing route.
According to EY’s Global IPO Trends 2023, SPACs continued to retreat in 2023, with 29 SPAC IPOs raising $3.7 billion last year against 86 SPAC IPOs that raised $13.4 billion in 2022. EY said more than 140 active SPACs are seeking a merger partner and 132 SPACs have announced mergers in 2023.
Early this week, AEI CapForce II Investment, a Kuala Lumpur-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that targets the “new economy” in Asia, has refiled an application for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US.