(Bloomberg) --
U.K. dealmaker Hugh Osmond said he's aiming to raise $400 million to invest in a company that has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Osmond, who founded the pub operator Punch Taverns Ltd. and previously owned the Pizza Express restaurant chain, said he will target a U.K. company that was making between $60 million and $125 million in profit before the spread of Covid-19. He plans to raise $400 million for a special purpose acquisition company that he will apply to list in the U.S. as soon as next month, and says he can increase his firepower to as much as $800 million.
“This is an unusual idea, to use a U.S. structure to acquire a U.K. target,” Osmond said in a telephone interview on Friday.
Sky News reported his plan earlier.
The British economy has been one of the worst affected by the virus, leaving many firms reliant on government aid to survive. The hospitality sector, where Osmond made his name, has been mostly shuttered since a lockdown was imposed in March, leaving operators with little or no income. The government only recently allowed restaurants and bars to reopen, and to boost the sector's fortunes Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced measures including meal vouchers and a cut in sales tax.
Read more: ‘Blank-Check' Deals Get New Look After High-Profile IPO Flops
The structure of a so-called SPAC gives managers wide discretion over how any capital raised is deployed. These blank-check companies raised a record $13.5 billion in the U.S. last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Osmond said he'd pitched his plan to at least a dozen investors including hedge funds and long-only institutions based in the U.S. and Europe. His team, which also have experience in real estate and insurance, haven't decided which sector to target, he said.
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