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TPB Acquisition I files for a $250 million IPO; SPAC targets sustainable food production

February 19, 2021
TPBAU

TPB Acquisition, a blank check company formed by venture foundry The Production Board targeting sustainable businesses in food and bio, filed on Friday with the SEC for an initial public offering.

The San Francisco, CA-based company plans to raise $250 million by offering 25 million units at a price of $10, where it would command a market value of $313 million. Units consist of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50.

The SPAC is led by CEO and Chairman David Friedberg, CEO of The Production Board and founder and Chairman of Metromile (Nasdaq: MILE); Friedberg serves as a director of food, agriculture, and restaurant companies Soylent, Clara Foods, Pattern Ag, Northern Quinoa Production Corp., and Brightloom. 

While it may pursue any company or industry, the SPAC plans to focus on sustainability-focused companies across the food, agriculture, biomanufacturing, and life sciences sectors, including what it calls radically transformative businesses that apply differentiated technology to "reimagine outdated systems of production while offering compelling value to customers and shareholders."

The SPAC intends to combine with an independent company alone, a company and TPB, or a company and one of TPB's portfolio companies. The SPAC will not combine with only TPB or one of its portfolio companies.

The SPAC was founded in 2021 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol TPBAU. Barclays and CODE Advisors are the joint bookrunners on the deal.