Ex-Goldman Rainmaker’s Primavera Files for Hong Kong SPAC

(Bloomberg) -- Primavera Capital, the Chinese private equity firm started by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rainmaker Fred Hu, filed to list one of the first special purpose acquisition companies in Hong Kong.

An affiliate of Primavera and Chinese-owned investment bank ABC International Holdings Ltd. formed a blank check company called Interra Acquisition Corp., according to pre-listing documents lodged Monday with the Hong Kong bourse. The SPAC will target high-growth sectors in greater China including innovative technology, consumer and new retail.

It could also consider companies involved in advanced manufacturing, health care and climate action, the filing shows. Bloomberg News first reported the listing plans last month. The SPAC could raise a few hundred million dollars, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Primavera has previously invested in companies including Yum China Holdings Inc., operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in Asia's biggest economy, as well as Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng Inc. and tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Its partner in the blank check listing, ABC International, is the overseas arm of Chinese megabank Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.

Deal Frenzy

Last year, Primavera executives raised $414 million for a SPAC listed in New York that's seeking a target in the Chinese consumer industry, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It hasn't announced a merger target yet.

Hong Kong's rulebook for blank-check companies was unveiled in December and came into effect on Jan. 1, months after its regional rival Singapore set the terms of its own, less stringent regime. Hong Kong's exchange barred retail investors from buying shares in its SPACs and imposed a fundraising threshold of HK$1 billion ($128 million).

The first filing for a Hong Kong SPAC came last month, when China Merchants Bank Co.'s overseas asset management arm unveiled plans to raise funds to buy a tech-enabled company in “new economy” sectors like green energy and life sciences. Trinity Acquisition Holdings, backed by former Chinese gymnast and entrepreneur Li Ning, LionRock Capital and Astrapto Capital, filed for an IPO in Hong Kong on Monday.

Even a hint of last year's short-lived frenzy around SPACs in the U.S. would be welcomed by Hong Kong's bourse. The exchange saw a significant slowdown in IPOs in the second half of last year amid a crackdown in China and slumping share prices. Companies raised $43 billion in Hong Kong IPOs last year, a 17% drop from 2020, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

ABC International and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are joint sponsors of Primavera's proposed SPAC listing, according to the filing Monday.