Cartica Acquisition, a blank check company backed by Cartica Management targeting India-focused tech businesses, filed on Tuesday with the SEC to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering.
The Washington, DC-based company plans to raise $200 million by offering 20 million units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. Affiliates of the sponsor intend to purchase $20 million worth of units in the offering (10% of the deal), and the company may raise an additional $30 million (shares only) at the closing of an acquisition pursuant to a forward purchase agreement with the sponsor. At the proposed deal size, Cartica Acquisition would command a market value of $250 million.
The company is led by Chairman Asif Ramji, the former Chief Growth Officer of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE: FIS), and CEO and Director Sanjeev Goel, the Managing Head of Global Value Creation Partners FZE. Farida Khambata and Steven Quamme, the co-founders of emerging markets-focused asset management firm Cartica Management, serve as Directors.
The company plans to target India-focused technology firms, focusing on those with equity values of $1 billion or higher.
Cartica Acquisition was founded in 2021 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol CITEU. The company filed confidentially on March 4, 2021. J.P. Morgan is the sole bookrunner on the deal.
