Europe Eyes Amsterdam As Center For SPACs

Europe is looking to Amsterdam as a launchpad for special-purpose acquisition companies, (SPAC), the Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday (Feb. 17).

The Amsterdam stock exchange has an early lead in developing SPAC expertise, “ahead of all other cities in Europe at this point,” Jean Pierre Mustier, the former UniCredit chief, told the Financial Times. He said aside from SPAC expertise, Amsterdam was chosen because of its “deep volume for European equities.”

Brexit moved some of London’s share and derivatives trading to Amsterdam, and the top brass behind SPACs are drawn to the Dutch capital because of its flexibility and global reputation.

Mustier and LVMH founder Bernard Arnault teamed up to launch a SPAC that is among the most elite to date. The two will use Amsterdam for the launch.

Nick Koemtzopoulos, head of EMEA equity capital markets at Credit Suisse, said interest in SPACs has escalated. “The level of dialogue and interest has gone up substantially. We’re having daily conversations with both issuers and private companies,” he told FT.

He said he believes Amsterdam will serve as the continent’s core listing location because “it’s a flexible, international jurisdiction and relatively straightforward place to list.”

“You have flexibility on the terms of the SPAC to be able to replicate the U.S.,” he added.

SPACs, also known as blank check companies, raise money and then look for companies to take public. Some 143 SPACs rolled out in the US so far this year, raising $42.7 billion, according to Refinitiv data, per FT.

Europe has been slow to the SPAC craze. ESG Core Investments raised €250 million and floated on Amsterdam’s Euronext exchange, becoming the region’s first SPAC listing this year and its fourth since the start of 2020.

Rover, the digital pet care platform, is going public via a SPAC through a merger with Nebula Caravel Acquisition Corp. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first half of this year.  The deal gives Rover an enterprise value of $1.4 billion.