Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings III, the third blank check company formed by Social Capital and Hedosophia targeting a non-US tech business, is expected to price on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
The Palo Alto, CA-based company plans to raise $600 million by offering 60 million units at $10 to command a market value of $750 million. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of one warrant exercisable at $11.50. The company revised its terms last month, originally planning to offer units consisting of one share of stock and one-quarter of a warrant.
This is the third joint venture between Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital and Ian Osborne's Hedosophia. The partnership's first SPAC, Social Capital Hedosophia, completed its business combination with Richard Branson's human spaceflight company Virgin Galactic (SPCE) in October 2019; the volatile stock closed Monday 90% above its $10 offer price. The partnership's second SPAC, US tech-focused Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings II (IPOB.U), is on file to raise $300 million. Returns from 2020 SPACs have recently improved after hitting a low point last month, when all 13 of the year's SPACs were trading below issue.
The company is led by Chairman and CEO Chamath Palihapitiya and President and Director Ian Osborne. Palihapitiya founded Social Capital in 2011 after serving as VP of User Growth at Facebook, and most recently led the partnership's first SPAC until it acquired Virgin Galactic, where he continues to serve as a director. The outspoken executive often shares his opinion with journalists; over the past month, Palihapitiya has stated the bull case for Bitcoin, argued against corporate bailouts, given a brief overview of his investment strategy, and estimated the long-term impacts of the coronavirus crisis. Ian Osborne founded Hedosophia in 2012 after leaving DST Global, where he served as Managing Director.
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings III was founded in 2019 and plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol IPOC.U. Credit Suisse is the sole bookrunner on the deal.
