Betsy Cohen’s new SPAC aims to raise $220 million via U.S. IPO

(Reuters) – FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by banking and fintech entrepreneur Betsy Cohen, said on Monday it plans to raise up to $220 million through an initial public offering in the United States.

The blank-check company, known earlier as Emerald ESG Acquisition Corp, is offering 22 million units at $10 each, it said in a filing.

Cohen-backed SPACs have clinched several deals to take companies public over the past few years, including ones with boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners and payments provider Payoneer.

Since SPACs became Wall Street’s hottest investment trend over the past 18 months, Cohen has emerged as one of the biggest names in the business of blank-check deals, alongside the likes of Chamath Palihapitiya and Michael Klein.

She will chair FTAC Emerald’s board, according to Monday’s filing. Cohen also has a similar role in nine other blank-check firms, five of which have completed their mergers and two have announced their deals.

Emerald ESG Sponsor, a firm managed by Cohen and a backer of FTAC Emerald, has committed to buy 890,000 units at $10 each in a private placement, the SPAC said in the filing.

SPACs are publicly traded shell companies with a pool of capital that merge with unlisted companies to take them public.

FTAC Emerald said it would target companies in sectors such as renewable energy, water sustainability, agricultural technology, shared economy software or next-generation mobility.

Goldman Sachs is the sole underwriter for the offering.

(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)