New public company will seek technology acquisitions focused on financial services and real estate.
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A newly formed blank-check company based in Norwalk has raised $150 million in an initial public offering and plans to acquire a technology or software infrastructure business.
Mercator Acquisition Corp. priced 15 million units at $10 each, with trading beginning Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol MRCOU.
Mercator said it intends to acquire a technology or software infrastructure company serving the financial services, real estate or asset management industries. Like other special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, it was formed to raise capital through an IPO before identifying a private company to merge with and take public.
The company has 18 months to complete a business combination.
Fairfield County has been a hub for SPAC sponsors, reflecting the region's concentration of hedge funds, private equity firms and investment managers. Mercator enters the public markets years after the industry's record-setting boom in 2020 and 2021, when hundreds of blank-check companies launched before investor enthusiasm cooled.
Mercator is led by Chairman and CEO Shawn Matthews, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. who later founded alternative investment firm Hondius Capital Management and has launched four other SPACs, two of which completed business combinations, according to an SEC filing.
President Shawn P. Matthews Jr. previously worked in business development for affiliated investment and energy companies and supported acquisition sourcing for other SPACs. Chief Financial Officer Steven Bischoff is a veteran financial services executive whose career has included leadership roles at Cantor Fitzgerald, NatAlliance Securities and Hondius Capital Management, and he has served as CFO of three other SPACs sponsored by Matthews, SEC filings show.
Mercator said the IPO proceeds will be held in a trust account until they are used to complete a future acquisition.
