RedBall Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) co-chaired by baseball executive Billy Beane and former Goldman Sachs banker Gerald Cardinale, said on Tuesday it plans to raise US$500-million in its initial public offering.
The offering on the New York Stock Exchange will consist of 50 million units, which include shares and warrants.
SPACs typically raise money in an IPO to pursue an acquisition without telling their investors in advance which specific company they will buy.
Mr. Beane shot to fame in 2003 with Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which tells the story of the Oakland Athletics baseball team and their incredible success after using data-driven performance analytics under general manager Mr. Beane, before becoming the inspiration for the 2011 film starring Brad Pitt.
A clutch of private companies have gone public this year by merging with blank check companies and RedBall is the latest example of money managers seeking to raise a SPAC.
SPACs have raised more than US$19-billion in 2020, already a record year, according to SPAC Research.
Churchill Capital Corp. IV, a SPAC run by former Citigroup banker Michael Klein, raised the size of its IPO to US$1.5-billion on Monday.
Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd., backed by billionaire investor Bill Ackman, also raised US$4-billion last week in the biggest IPO by a special purpose acquisition firm.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is the sole bookrunner on RedBall’s offering.
RedBall is an affiliate of RedBird Capital Partners LLC, a private equity investment firm founded by Mr. Cardinale, that backs entrepreneurs, businesses and startups.
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