A blank-check company set up by veteran investor Bill Foley is in talks to merge with online payments firm Paysafe Group Ltd, which is backed by Blackstone Group Inc and CVC Capital Partners, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
The report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, said Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp II has begun talks with investors to raise more than $1 billion in new equity to support the merger, which would create a company valued at more than $10 billion.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) had raised $1.47 billion in an initial public offering in August, with private companies and startups increasingly taking the SPAC route to go public to avoid the risks of a lengthy IPO process.
A SPAC is a shell company that uses IPO proceeds to buy another company, typically within two years, in a merger that will take the acquired company public. Investors are not notified in advance on what company the SPAC will buy.
Paysafe declined to comment on the Bloomberg report, while Foley Trasimene did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Bloomberg reported earlier on Friday that Paysafe had restarted talks with advisers for a U.S. public listing that could take place next year.
Source: Reuters.com