Black Spade Capital, the private investment arm of Melco Chairman Lawrence Ho, has announced that it is entered into a ‘business combination agreement’ with Vietnamese smart electric vehicle group VinFast, to leverage its New York Stock Exchange listing to allow VinFast to list, with the company to have a total equity value of over $23 billion.
The transaction is expected to close ‘in the second half of 2023, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals’.
The group notes that existing shareholders of VinFast ‘will hold approximately 99 percent shares of the combined company’ after the transaction.
The business combination involves Black Spade Acquisition Co, currently listed on the NYSE as BSAQ.
VinFast, a member of VinGroup, is the ‘leading Vietnamese automotive manufacturer’, producing ‘electric SUVs, e-scooters and e-buses across Vietnam, the United States, and soon, Europe’.
Black Spade Acquisition is a blank check company created as vehicle for business combinations (also known as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company – SPAC).
Speaking of the agreement, VinFast Global CEO Madame Thuy Le noted that “The partnership with Black Spade and listing of VinFast in the U.S. represents the perfect capital raising avenue for our future global ambitions and is also an important accomplishment for Vingroup.”
Black Spade Acquisition Chairman, Dennis Tam, notes that “With the support of Vingroup, one of the largest conglomerates in Vietnam, VinFast is very well positioned to take advantage of the EV lifestyle trend and we are very excited about the future potential growth of VinFast in Vietnam and globally.”
