Catcha Group's special purpose acquisition company files for US IPO

Catcha Investment Corp, a special purpose acquisition company under Catcha Group, has filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange with the intention of raising US$250 million, according to the filing on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is offering 25 million units at US$10 each and the SEC filing said each unit comprises a share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, exercisable at US$11.50.

The company said in the filing that it is on the search for prospective operations in the technology, digital media, digital services, or financial technology sectors, which it refers to as "new economy sectors", across Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia and Australia.

"We believe that Asia Pacific will continue to enjoy an outsized growth trajectory, particularly in the new economy sectors, and that this will result in opportunities for attractive risk-adjusted returns from our initial business combination," the filing said. It also plans to focus on businesses with a strong management team and culture, large addressable markets, opportunities for inorganic growth, and scalability, among other factors.

Catcha Investment said in the filing that it will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region in its identification and acquisition of a target company. "We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target," it added.

The company will be led by Patrick Grove (pictured), chairman and CEO, and Luke Elliott, director and president. Among the individuals on its investment advisory board are managing partner at Jungle Ventures David Gowdey, founder and managing partner of K3 Ventures Meng Xiong Kuok, and managing partner of 500 Startups Khailee Ng.

Catcha Group has more than 50 investments worldwide, including iCarAsia and Frontier Digital Ventures which are both listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. According to the SEC filing, iCar Asia is currently the subject of a buyout offer. It also owns Wild Digital, a media company that organises conferences across Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, it used to own iProperty Group, which was acquired by REA Group in 2016.

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