ADQ, Chimera launch Middle East’s first blank-check company
Introducing the Middle East’s first SPAC: ADQ and Chimera’s ADC Acquisition Corporation officially began trading in Abu Dhabi on Friday, closing its first day AED 0.5 up at AED 10.50, Bloomberg Asharq reported. The SPAC managed to raise AED 367 mn (USD 100 mn) in its IPO, selling 36.7 mn shares at AED 10 apiece. The ADX is now the region’s first exchange to set up a legal framework for blank-check firms, after issuing its SPAC regs back in February. The blank-check firm will look to merge with one or more “fast-growing, technology-driven businesses with strong management teams and attractive valuations” across the MENA region, ADQ and our friends at Chimera said in a joint statement.
EGY-SPAC when? Egypt has tried to position itself to capitalize on the SPAC fad, and issued a set of regulations aimed at attracting companies to list local blank-firms on the EGX. FRA chief Mohamed Omran even suggested in January that the country’s debut SPAC would launch by February though we haven’t heard anything since then — unsurprisingly perhaps given the war in Ukraine, the tanking US SPAC market, and the poor performance of the EGX.
Did someone say “tanking US SPAC market”? Some 25 companies that completed SPAC mergers in 2020 and 2021 have issued “going-concern” warnings, which indicates that they are likely to go bust within 12 months, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing data from Audit Analytics. That’s more than 10% of all the SPACs that listed during the so-called SPAC boom, with many startups — including several EV makers, scooter-rental company Helbiz, and glass window maker View — missing their forecasts so far. Shares of companies that listed through SPACs in 2021 alone were down 59.5% on average as of Tuesday, according to analysis from University of Florida researchers.
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EGX30 |
10,201 |
-0.5% (YTD: -14.6%) |
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USD (CBE) |
Buy 18.55 |
Sell 18.63 |
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USD at CIB |
Buy 18.57 |
Sell 18.63 |
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Interest rates CBE |
11.25% deposit |
12.25% lending |
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Tadawul |
12,530 |
-0.5% (YTD: +11.1%) |
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ADX |
9,689 |
+1.5% (YTD: +14.1%) |
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DFM |
3,297 |
0.0% (YTD: +3.2%) |
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S&P 500 |
4,158 |
+2.5% (YTD: -12.8%) |
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FTSE 100 |
7,585 |
+0.3% (YTD: +2.7%) |
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Euro Stoxx 50 |
3,809 |
+1.8% (YTD: -11.4%) |
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Brent crude |
USD 119.43 |
+1.7% |
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Natural gas (Nymex) |
USD 8.73 |
-1.9% |
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Gold |
USD 1,857.30 |
+0.2% |
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BTC |
USD 28,965 |
+0.7% (YTD: -37.3%) |
THE CLOSING BELL-
The EGX30 fell 0.5% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 572 mn (32.4% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 14.6% YTD.
In the green: EFG Hermes (+3.0%) and CIB (+0.5%).
In the red: Palm Hills Development (-8.9%), GB Auto (-8.3%) and MM Group (-7.6%).