Diversity-focused SPAC Empowerment & Inclusion Capital I files for a $200 million IPO

Empowerment & Inclusion Capital I, a blank check company targeting a diverse-led or inclusive-focused business, filed on Tuesday with the SEC to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering.

The New York, NY-based company plans to raise $200 million by offering 20 million units at $10. Each unit will consist of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At the proposed deal size, Empowerment & Inclusion Capital I will command a market value of $250 million.

The company is led by CEO and Chairman Harold Ford Jr., who currently serves as EVP and Vice Chairman of PNC's Corporate & Institutional Banking Group and formerly represented Tennessee in Congress. He is joined by CFO Virginia Henkels, who previously served as CFO of transportation company Swift. 

Empowerment & Inclusion Capital I plans to use management's experience and resources to acquire a diverse-led business or a business focused on promoting an inclusive economy and society and provide strategic advice in support of its ongoing growth and success to create enduring shareholder value. To share in that value creation, PNC and Jefferies intend to each donate all of their respective founders shares and warrants to initiatives supporting the economic empowerment and inclusion of underrepresented groups.

Empowerment & Inclusion Capital I was founded in 2020 and plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol EPWR.U. The company filed confidentially on September 25, 2020. Jefferies and Siebert Williams Shank are the joint bookrunners on the deal.