Virgin Group Acquisition III, the third blank check company formed by the Virgin Group, withdrew its plans for an initial public offering on Friday. It had filed in March 2021 and most recently planned to raise $300 million by offering 30 million units at $10, with each unit containing one share of common stock and one-fifth of a warrant. It originally planned to raise $500 million before cutting the deal size in July 2021.
Founded by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, the company was set to be led by CEO and Director Josh Bayliss, the CEO of Virgin Group. The SPAC had planned to target consumer-facing industries in the US and Western Europe.
Management's other SPACs include VG Acquisition, which merged with D2C genetic testing service 23andMe (ME; -70% from $10 offer price) in June 2021, and Virgin Group Acquisition II, which merged with consumer product company Grove Collaborative (GROV; -55%) in June 2022.
The New York, NY-based company was founded in 2021 and had planned to list on the NYSE under the symbol VIII.U. Credit Suisse was set to be the sole bookrunner on the deal.
