Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Poema Global Holdings Corp. raised $300 million in its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the United States. The company is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange and started trading on January 6, 2021 with the ticker symbol “PPGHU.”

Poema Global offered 30 million units priced at $10 each. This number of units is 5 million more than what was previously reported. On December 18 last year, NASDAQ reported that Poema Global filed with the SEC to raise up to $250 million in an IPO. Every unit the blank check company offers consists of a share of common stock and a half of a warrant, which is exercisable at a price of $11.50.

The IPO is set to end on January 8, 2021, subject to changes that may happen in relation to customer closing conditions. Citi and UBS Investment Bank act as the joint book-running lead managers of the IPO. Poema Global grants its underwriter a 45-day option to buy up to an additional 4.5 million units at the IPO price to make up for over-allotments.

Affiliated with Princeville Capital, Poema Global was established to merge with one or more businesses that are seeking to go public while mitigating the expense and the tedious processes and requirements of a traditional IPO–such is the purpose of so-called “shell” or “blank check” corporations. The company focuses on tech companies in Asia and Europe that are deemed to have high growth potential, high scalability, and sound unit economics.

Princeville Capital is a venture investment firm based in San Francisco, California with satellite offices in Germany and Hong Kong. The total venture capital under its management exceeds the $1 billion mark with 13 active companies in its portfolio.

Poema Global operates with two co-chairmen: Emmanuel DeSousa and Joaquin Rodriguez Torres. Both are Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Princeville Capital. The company’s chief executive officer and director is Homer Sun, who was the former Chief Information Officer of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia. Marc Chan, the current Executive Director of Amprion, serves as Poema Global’s President.

Poema Global Holdings Corp. was incorporated in the state of Cayman Islands. It registered with the United States Security Exchange Commission on September 29, 2020 with the reporting file number 001-39844. Its official business address is listed as: ℅ Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman E9 KY1-1104. The company operates with the fiscal year ending on the 31st of December.

The news about Poema Global’s relatively massive IPO comes at a time when SPACs  are gaining popularity as an option for private companies in Asia to tap on public investments. Late last year, SoftBank Group announced its plan to raise over half a billion dollars for its SPAC in the United States. SoftBank’s SPAC similarly targets the acquisition of tech companies.

As of January 6, Poema Global’s stock price closed at $10.30 with its market capitalization at $373.38 million. The stock price peaked at $10.40, less than an hour after the first trading.

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