Tikehau has not identified a specific target sector for its prospective SPAC firm, one of the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and the firm could decide not to proceed with a SPAC listing, the person said. A representative for Tikehau declined to comment.
Tikehau would join Turmeric Capital, Novo Tellus Capital Partners and Temasek’s Vertex Holdings Ltd. in seeking to be among the front-runners to set up a SPAC in the city-state. Singapore started allowing blank-check companies to list on Sept. 3, becoming the first Asian financial hub to host the structures. The China Securities Regulatory Commission is studying the possibility of share listings through SPACs, the regulator’s chairman said in a speech published on Monday.
The new SPAC regulations “are very balanced and create a commercially viable framework that also provides for adequate guard rails to protect investors,” said Neil Parekh, Tikehau’s head of Asia, Australia and New Zealand, in an interview last week following the launch of the framework.
There are several high-growth firms across Asia Pacific “that have mature management teams that are ready for public markets,” especially in property technology, health care, consumer and fintech, Parekh said.
The firm, which has 30.9 billion euros in assets under management, has experience launching SPACs. Tikehau worked with ex-UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Jean Pierre Mustier and billionaire Bernard Arnault to list Pegasus Acquisition Co. Europe BV, one of the region’s biggest blank-check companies, in Amsterdam.
