ADQ and Chimera Investments to launch UAE’s first SPAC on ADX

Abu Dhabi-based ADQ and Chimera Investments, a private investment firm, have set up ADC Acquisition Corporation (ADC), the UAE’s first Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

ADC plans to raise Dhs367m through an initial public offering of 36.7 million shares at an offer price of Dhs10 per share. Shares will be sold to qualified retail and professional investors in a public subscription in the UAE and listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

The launch of ADC offers target businesses an opportunity to access capital in Abu Dhabi’s capital markets through a faster, less expensive alternative to the traditional IPO method.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, MD and CEO of ADQ and chairman of ADC, stated: “We have partnered with Chimera Investments to launch ADC Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC aiming to target companies in the MENA region that are fast-growing, technology-driven businesses with strong management teams and attractive valuations. Through ADC, we are creating a desirable investment structure in the UAE that is well positioned to identify and consolidate target companies through a differentiated approach, providing private companies a new route to funding from public markets and investors with access to an innovative investment product.”

Syed Basar Shueb, chairman of Chimera Investments and vice chairman of ADC, added: “With the launch and listing of ADC, Chimera aims to capitalise on ADX’s newly-issued SPAC regulations, offering investors faster access to capital, higher transparency and lower fees. This in turn will increase liquidity and access to financing for MENA-based businesses and reaffirms our leading role in helping to develop the UAE’s capital markets.”

ADX was the first market in the region to introduce comprehensive listing rules under the regulatory framework for SPACs, which was issued by the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority in February.

In other news, ADQ and E20 Investment, a UAE-based agribusiness investment company have joined hands to establish a new animal health platform in Abu Dhabi.

Read: ADQ, E20 Investment partner to launch animal health platform

ADQ has been rapidly expanding its food and agriculture portfolio. In March, ADQ announced that it had entered an agreement to acquire a majority equity stake in Unifrutti Group, a global producer and distributor of fresh produce.