- Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant backed special purpose acquisition company Infinite Acquisition Corp, which filed for an initial public offering for $200 million.
- The NBA All-Star will serve as co-CEO of Infinite, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Sports gambling company DraftKings used a SPAC to go public in 2020.
Basketball star Kevin Durant is betting on a blank check company.
The Brooklyn Nets forward will serve as the co-CEO of Infinite Acquisition Corp, which filed for an initial public offering for $200 million on Wednesday. Infinite will sell 20 million shares at $10 and return money to investors if it doesn’t acquire a company to take public within 24 months. Among the targets: sports, e-commerce, and cryptocurrency companies.
The news was first reported by Reuters.
The special purpose acquisition company will trade under the ticker symbol “NFNT.U” on the New York Stock Exchange.
A SPAC, also known as a blank check company, is formed to raise capital through an initial public offering to acquire existing companies. The funds are placed in a two-year escrow account, and once a deal is identified, it’s presented to investors.
Investors can exit if they don’t approve a proposal. But if a deal is secured, investors can also obtain stock warrants – options to buy shares of the new company purchased at a future date.
Sports betting company DraftKings used a blank check company to go public in 2020.
Over $100 billion in SPAC deals occurred in 2021, according to Reuters. But the market has cooled after a Securities and Exchange Commission accounting crackdown.
Durant, 33, is an active investor through his firm Thirty Five Ventures.
Last month, he joined another IPO for secondary-ticket service SeatGeek. That company entered a business combination agreement valued at $1.35 billion with RedBall Acquisition Corp.
Durant is also a team investor in a Major League Soccer club, and banking app Goalsetter. Last April, he joined hip-hop star Drake and Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezo’s investment firm to become a stakeholder in the sports media company Overtime.
Durant has made over $300 million in his pro career, according to Spotrac. That figure will only increase with his latest National Basketball Association deal. Last August, he agreed to a four-year extension worth $194.2 million with the Nets. That contract expires in 2026, and Durant will make $53 million in the final year.
On the court, the Nets are 4-3 so far this season, and Durant is averaging 27.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in those seven contests. The Nets host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at the Barclays Center.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
