Abu Dhabi royal-backed firms to merge in regions first SPAC deal

ADC Acquisition Corporation, a blank-cheque company backed by a prominent Abu Dhabi royal, has agreed to acquire state investment fund ADQ’s United Printing & Publishing, in what would be the first such deal in the Gulf region.

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The transaction gives UPP an enterprise value of 623 million dirhams ($169.63 million), according to an ADC statement, and it will merge with ADC for the combined entity to become a publicly-listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
ADC was set up as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) by ADQ, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of the UAE president, and Chimera Investments – part of Royal Group, Sheikh Tahnoon’s private investment conglomerate, in April last year.
It listed the following month after raising about $100 million, with a mandate to acquire one or more scalable businesses. SPACs raise money to acquire a private firm with the purpose of taking it public, allowing the target to list more quickly on share markets than via traditional initial public offerings.
ADQ will become the combined entity’s single biggest shareholder after the deal, the statement said.
ADC is also seeking to raise up to 734 million dirhams via private investment in public equity (PIPE) for UPP’s organic and inorganic growth.
“We are confident that UPP represents an attractive platform, with strong and stable revenue, through its long-term contracts and relationships with anchor customers, such as UAE government entities,” ADC Chief Executive Seif Fikry said in the statement.

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