Kairous Acquisition Corp Ltd, an Asia-focused blank check company led by the founder of Malaysia-based Kairous Capital, has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $50 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) which plans to raise $50 million, is offering 5 million units at $10 each. Each unit consists of one ordinary share, one-half (1/2) of a redeemable warrant, and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of an ordinary share upon the completion of an initial business combination. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per full share, its prospectus showed.
“Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location, although we currently intend to focus on opportunities in Asia,” the SPAC said in a filing dated Aug 24, 2021.
The development was first reported by investment adviser Renaissance Capital. Maxim Group LLC is acting as sole book-running manager and representative of the underwriters.
On its acquisition strategy, the SPAC, which plans to be listed on NASDAQ, said it intends to “primarily focus on fast-growing technology companies in different industry verticals, including but not limited to e-commerce, financial technology, insurance technology, digital health, digital media, and digital services.”
The blank check company also plans to acquire businesses with enterprise values of between $120 million and $300 million and with revenue or net profit at an annual growth rate of at least 50 percent.
“We intend to acquire companies with business models that are well proven in developed markets. Asia is growing at an unprecedented speed and we believe the region is in need of faster and more efficient business models, similar to those we see in developed countries such as the United States and China that are well proven to be much better in serving the market and recorded strong growth trajectory,” it added.
The SPAC said it will seek to capitalize on the M&A and operational expertise as well as the relationships of its management team and its board of directors, to identify attractive businesses that have the capacity to grow rapidly by utilizing a public vehicle.
The company is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Lee, who is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Kairous Capital, a regional venture capital firm focusing on technology investments across China and Southeast Asia. Lee has more than 16 years of experience in cross-border investment across the Asia Pacific.
Since 2004, Lee has been actively involved in private equity and venture capital investment. In 2006, he joined Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd as the pioneer team in setting up their private equity division and first Islamic private equity fund in the Asia Pacific.
Launched in 2015, Kairous Capital is a venture capital firm with a hybrid model as it has some private equity elements such as its involvement in the post-investment value creation of startup.
To date, Kairous Capital has invested in 13 companies across China and Southeast Asia, covering industries such as financial technology, e-commerce, digital health, digital media, and digital services.
Kairous Capital is an investor in TechNode Global.
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