East Stone Acquisition, a blank check company formed by East Stone Capital to acquire a fintech business, raised $120 million by offering 12 million units at $10. The SPAC originally filed to raise $100 million.
Units consist of one share of common stock, one warrant to purchase a half-share of common stock at $11.50 per full share, and one-tenth of one right to receive a share of common stock upon an acquisition.
Led by Chinese executives, the Massachusetts-based SPAC is pursuing financial technology businesses in North America and Asia-Pacific with an overall transaction value of $300 million to $1.0 billion. Examples of target areas include online lending, tech-enabled credit analytics, mobile payments, smart contracts, and insurance tech.
The company is led by Chairman and CFO Charlie Hao, and Director and CEO Sherman Lu, who co-founded PE firm East Stone Capital in 2017. Charlie Hao previously served as CEO of Shandong Haizhishe Energy Engineering, an investment officer at Shanghai Guxin Investment, and an officer of two China-focused SPACs in 2005 and 2008. Sherman Lu previously held roles including EVP at Kangde Investment, CEO of Wanda Investment, and an EVP at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
East Stone Acquisition plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ESSCU. I-Bankers Securities acted as lead manager on the deal, with EarlyBirdCapital as co-manager.
