3 May 2022, Prague – WOOD SPAC One closed the bookbuilding period of the first-ever SPAC listing on the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE) on 29 April 2022. In total, it collected CZK 538.7m from 431 investors. The settlement of the bookbuilding will take place on Friday, 6 May, and WOOD SPAC One will be listed on PSE on 9 May. The settlement date marks the beginning of the identification phase of a suitable entity for the acquisition. WOOD & Company’s management believes that, especially in the current uncertain times in the capital markets, SPACs may represent a more attractive and certain alternative to a traditional IPO for potential target companies to underwrite growth capital.
“Our goal with our first SPAC transaction was to collect at least half a billion CZK, and we have succeeded. Naturally, we are satisfied with the result, and we believe that the subscribed amount will contribute to the launch of a great new story on the PSE, and satisfy investors' expectations”, says Oliver Polyák, WOOD & Company’s investment manager. According to Polyák, the first SPAC in Central and Eastern Europe has reported success in the more experienced retail investor community. Despite the recent events and the generally difficult market situation, the project has benefited from investors still looking for ways to protect their assets in this highly inflationary environment.
"SPACs are a proven concept and represent a new investment opportunity, which can attract a new client base. We believe we should be able to connect our investors'" money with a promising target company and follow up on our previous successes, such as Pilulka's IPO two years ago. Being the first SPAC in the region also gives us a great advantage when choosing a suitable target", added Vladimír Jaroš, CEO of WOOD & Company.
“The successful closing of the bookbuilding period is the first significant step towards gaining a new interesting stock on the Prague Stock Exchange. The Prague Stock Exchange is the first stock exchange in the CEE region to welcome a SPAC. I am very happy that we are helping Czech investors to experience this interesting concept”, says Petr Koblic, CEO of PSE.
WOOD SPAC One’s bookbuilding period lasted from 10 February until 29 April and the minimum investment volume was set at CZK 250,200. As determined by the prospectus, investors were granted warrants, in addition to their shares, the first half of which investors receive concurrently, at the time of the IPO. Investors will only become entitled to the other half after the completion of the acquisition of a target company, should they still be the owners of the appropriate number of shares at the relevant record date. WOOD SPAC One now has two years to complete the acquisition phase, but WOOD & Company believes that it will come up with a target company proposal sooner. It will search primarily among technology companies in the e-commerce and engineering sectors, and overall financial health, growth potential, competent management, and a strong desire for further development and regional expansion will be among its key criteria. After the terms of the acquisition have been agreed, investors will vote to approve the acquisition. The final stage is to list the target company on the stock exchange through its acquisition by WOOD SPAC One. Potential interested target companies are welcome to apply via this website: https://www.woodspac.cz/.
Additional sponsor shares will be subscribed following the closing of the public subscription. In accordance with the prospectus, the sponsors will subscribe through WOOD SPAC One Holding s.r.o. for 85,656 additional registered sponsor shares, with a nominal value of CZK 35 each. In total, the sponsors will hold 143,656 sponsor shares through WOOD SPAC One Holding s.r.o.
WOOD & Company is a leading investment bank in the Central European market. Founded in 1991, it has offices in seven European cities: Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, Milan, Bucharest, Dublin and London. The company focuses on providing services in the areas of corporate finance and capital markets, securities trading and asset management.
More information about WOOD & Company is available at wood.cz