Hong Kong family office SPAC agrees$27bn merger with Vingroup EV unit
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
(AVCJ by Tim Burroughs) – A special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) launched by the familyoffice of Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, hasagreed to merge with the electric vehicle (EV) unit of Vietnam’s Vingroup.
The SPAC, Black Spade Acquisition Co, raised USD 150m through a US offering in July 2021.Ho, who is currently chairman and CEO of hotel and resort owner Melco InternationalDevelopment, is identified as the SPAC’s founder and sponsor. Hong Kong-headquarteredBlack Spade Capital is Ho’s family office. Its exposure ranges from equity and fixed income toreal estate and pre-IPO deals.
The merger gives Vingroup’s EV unit, VinFast, an enterprise value of USD 27bn and an equityvalue of USD 23bn. This would make it the third-largest SPAC deal to date, Bloombergreported. Grab, the Southeast Asian ride-hailing platform-turned-super app, ranks second. It merged with a US-listed SPAC in December 2021 at a valuation of USD 30.4bn and nowtrades at a 67% discount to the offering price.
