Europe-focused SPAC Avanti Acquisition files for a $500 million IPO

Avanti Acquisition, a blank check company formed by NNS Group and Sienna Capital targeting a European business, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $500 million in an initial public offering.

The Cayman Islands-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-half of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. The company may raise an additional $100 million at the closing of an acquisition pursuant to a forward purchase agreement with its sponsor. At the proposed deal size, Avanti Acquisition would command a market value of $625 million.

The company is led by Chairman and CEO Nassef Sawiris, the founder and Chairman of NNS Group, his family office, and CFO Johann Dumas, the CFO of Sienna Capital, the alternative investment platform of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. The company plans to leverage its management team's European sourcing channels and relationships and target European businesses with a strong US nexus and international reach.

Avanti Acquisition was founded in 2020 and plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol AVAN.U. Citi and Goldman Sachs are the joint bookrunners on the deal.