Travel SPAC GO Acquisition files for a $500 million IPO

GO Acquisition, a blank check company formed by the co-founder of GLG and the founder of Certares targeting the travel industry, filed on Tuesday with the SEC to raise up to $500 million in an initial public offering.

The New York, NY-based company plans to raise $500 million by offering 50 million units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At the proposed deal size, GO Acquisition would command a market value of $625 million. 

The company is led by co-CEO Noam Gottesman, the founder and Managing Partner of single-family office TOMS Capital and co-founder of GLG, and co-CEO Gregory O'Hara, the founder of private equity firm and Tripadvisor's controlling shareholder Certares Management. The company plans to target travel-related and travel-adjacent businesses in North America and Europe.

Noam Gottesman previously founded two other London-listed SPACs: Nomad Holdings in 2014, which acquired Europe-based Iglo and Findus in 2015, changed its name to Nomad Foods, and relisted in the US (NYSE: NOMD; +215% from $10 offer price); and Landscape Acquisition Holdings in 2017, which acquired AP Wireless in 2020 and changed its name to Digital Landscape Group (LSE: DLGI; -25%).

GO Acquisition was founded in 2020 and plans to list on the NYSE but has not selected a ticker yet. Credit Suisse is the sole bookrunner on the deal.