Ribbit Capital, one of the early crypto and Blockchain venture funds, is seeking to raise $350 million from a so-called 'blank check' initial public offering (IPO).
Per the S-1 form filed with the US Securities and Commission Exchange (SEC) on Tuesday, the venture fund has registered Ribbit Leap as the Special Acquisition Company (SPAC). As it goes with such companies, it has no operating business, meaning it will later merge with another company.
“We have not selected any business combination partner and we have not initiated any substantive discussions with [any parties yet],” the prospectus stated.
Though no details of the SPAC’s future goal was furnished, Ribbit’s focus on the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry gives an idea about its inclination.
An Early Crypto Investor
Registered in the Cayman Islands, Ribbit Capital Long-Term Equity Acquisition Pool maintains a $2.6 billion portfolio with stakes in major crypto and financial startups, including Coinbase, Revolut, Robinhood, Xapo, Chainalysis, Figure Technologies, and CRB Group. Furthermore, It led the seed round for Bobby Lee’s crypto wallet startup last year.
“We view partnership with management teams as a commitment for a decade or more,” according to the filing. “Because of this we are focused on long-term value creation, and we seek to partner with investors with the same orientation.”
Rabbit has on-boarded JPMorgan Chase as the sole book-runner for the IPO. The documents detailed that $402.5 million in Class A shares would be sold for $10 each. Additionally, following a fee of around $52 million, the raised amount will stand at $350 million.
Currently, only $350 million in shares are available to be sold, but the underwriter has the option to issue the rest, which amounts to a further 15 percent of shares. Furthermore, the parent Ribbit made a forward purchase commitment to hold $100 million in shares of the SPAC.
The company is considering listing the applied units on the New York Stock Exchange .
Apart from this 'blank check' IPO, security token exchange INX recently opened its IPO seeking to raise $117 million, while Coinbase and Ripple are also considering going public.
