Bernard Arnault: The richest man in Europe joins the SPAC madness

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Arnault investment holding company Financière Agache is joining forces with French asset manager Tikehau Capital and two renowned European bankers to launch a special purpose procurement company (SPAC) that will seek transactions in the European financial services sector.

Tikehau Capital said in a statement Monday that potential targets include asset management platforms, fintech firms, insurance services and diversified financial services companies. The focus will be on “scalable platforms that offer strong profit growth potential”, he added, indicating that this will be the first of several SPACs he intends to launch.

Jean-Pierre Mustier, former CEO of the Italian bank UniCredit (UNCFF), and Diego De Giorgi, former head of the global investment bank at Bank of America (ferry) Merrill Lynch will be the company’s operational partners, Tikehau Capital said.
As GameStop declines, a hot part of the market gets even hotter
SPACs or blank-check companies raise capital through an IPO to buy existing businesses. They were once an obscure part of the market, but exploded in popularity. Last year, 229 SPACs in the United States raised $ 76 billion, up from just $ 13 billion in 2019, according to Goldman Sachs. A series of new submissions this year – including former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Internet Rocket co-founder Oliver Samwer – indicate that the pace is not slowing.
While European stock markets have so far missed the boom, there are early signs that the market is starting to take off in the region.

Tikehau Capital did not provide details on the amount that SPAC is trying to raise, saying only that the four sponsors intend to collectively invest at least 10% of this amount. Arnault has a net worth of $ 114 billion, making it the fourth richest person globally and the richest person in Europe, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

SPAC will hold an IPO in Amsterdam, the latest in a series of victories for the Dutch city stock exchange. Euronext Amsterdam is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the changes, which means that EU financial institutions cannot trade European stocks on UK stock exchanges after Brexit.

– Julia Horowitz contributed to the reportingg.

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