KKR-backed SPAC looks to raise $1 billion in IPO

A blank-check company backed by private equity firm KKR & Co Inc is aiming to raise about $1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), a regulatory filing showed on Thursday.

The company, KKR Acquisition Holdings I Corp, said it would sell 100 million units, comprising shares and warrants, priced at $10 apiece, in what could be one of the biggest IPOs by a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) so far in 2021.

A SPAC, a shell company that raises money in an IPO before later merging with a privately held company to take the latter public, has become many investors’ structure of choice over the past year.

SPACs raised $24.26 billion in January, 20 times more than the same period in 2020, Refinitiv data showed. Last month’s haul was already 30% of the total $79 billion raised by SPACs in the whole of 2020.

KKR Acquisition Holdings is sponsored by KKR in partnership with Glenn Murphy, who currently serves as the chairman of Lululemon Athletica Inc.

The blank-check firm said it plans to list its units on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “KAHC”.

Citigroup is the sole bookrunner for the offering.

Source: Reuters