09/14/2021 2:52 PM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 9/14/2021 2:59 PM
After almost 20 years of doing business separately, the founders of Mercado Libre (MELI)
will meet again.
They are Marcos Galperin, who continues to lead the electronic commerce giant, and Hernán Kazah, creator of
the Kaszek fund
, which has interests in firms such as Notco, Bitso, Nubank, Kavak, OrdersYa or Digital House.
Both groups, whose owners had worked together between 1999 and 2011, announced the creation of
a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
to invest in digital businesses in Latin America.
SPACs are firms that go out into the capital market to raise funds with
the promise of investing them
in certain assets.
A format that investment funds usually do privately, but endorsed by the
Securities and Exchange Commission
of the United States (SEC), the securities commission.
The company they will create will be called
Meli Kaszek Pioneer
, and it has already applied for registration with the SEC to carry out an initial public offering (IPO) of 25 million Class A common shares at $ 10 each,
or US $ 250 million.
Hernán Kazah, from Kaszek Ventures.
In a statement, the two companies indicate that the new company
will be listed on the Nasdaq
under the ticker "MEKA".
BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs Group, Allen & Company and JPMorgan Chase will lead the offering.
"The company intends to raise capital through the IPO for the acquisition of
a company from the Latin American digital ecosystem," they
said.
The company plans to target the acquisition or creation of technology companies operating in Latin America through a number of verticals, including commerce, financial services, logistics, healthcare, education, business software and entertainment.
According to the SEC filing, MELI Kaszek Pioneer is a strategic priority for both MELI and Kaszek.
"We believe it will open a new chapter for the creation of value through the capital markets in Latin America," they stated.
"Our goal is to become the best strategic partner for a high-growth technology disruptor, led by its founders, forging a long-term relationship that allows it to fully leverage the diverse skill sets and businesses" of MELI Kaszek Pioneer partners, they added.
The new firm will have
Hernán Kazah and Pedro Arnt
in its
management,
who will be CO CEOs, and
Ángel Uribe
, as Director of Investments.
Among the
special consultants
will be, in addition to Marcos Galperin, Nicolás Szekasy (cofounder and managing partner of Kaszek), Stelleo Tolda (President of Commerce of MELI), Osvaldo Giménez (President of Fintech of MELI) and Daniel Rabinovich (Director of operations of MELI ).
NE
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