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Retail REIT Simon Property Group, the country’s largest operator of regional malls, is riding the SPAC wave. We don’t know yet where that wave will take the company, but industry insiders offer a number of guesses.
On Jan. 29, Indianapolis-based Simon filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to form a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The SPAC, called Simon Property Group Acquisition Holdings Inc., seeks to raise at least $300 million through an IPO.
A “blank check” SPAC is a shell company with no operations that’s set up for the sole purpose of raising cash via an IPO and eventually acquiring an existing company. It’s considered a less costly, less complicated fundraising alternative to a traditional IPO.
David Simon, chairman of Simon Property Group, also serves as chairman of the SPAC. Eli Simon, senior vice president of corporate investments at the family-run company, is the SPAC’s CEO. Eli is David’s 33-year-old son. Simon Property Group will own about 20 percent of the new company once it goes public.
It’ll be up to the Simons, along with folks like Stanley Shashoua, vice president of the SPAC and chief investment officer of Simon Property Group, to choose an acquisition target. As with other SPACs, the Simon SPAC has left the acquisition door wide open. In its SEC filing, the SPAC identifies these sectors for a potential acquisition:
- Health and wellness
- Food and beverage
- Distribution
- Restaurants
- Education
- Sustainability
- Co-working
- Entertainment, gaming, sports and e-sports
- Hospitality