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Abu Dhabi-listed ADC Acquisition Corporation, jointly founded last year by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Chimera Investments, has agreed to acquire United Printing & Publishing (UPP), in a deal which includes an AED 600 million ($163 million) valuation and a stock market listing for UPP.
ADC said the deal is the region’s first SPAC merger deal and will also include private investment in public equity (PIPE) fundraising with a value of up to AED 734 million, giving the company access to up to AED 1.1 billion.
A statement from ADC said it had entered into agreement with ADQ Development Holding LLC for a “business combination” with UPP, following which the publishing, printing and packaging company will be listed on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
ADC, itself listed on ADX, was founded in April 2022 as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) by ADQ and Chimera Investments.
On completion of the deal, ADQ will be issued 62.3 million new Class A shares in ADC for an issue price of AED 10.00 per share, an ADX statement said, implying an equity value of AED 623 million for UPP, with ADQ the single largest shareholder in the combined company.
UPP will expand internationally and though “organic and inorganic paths”, ADC said.
“This market segment is expected to benefit from long-term structural growth opportunities as a result of heightened security protocols and other industry tailwinds, as governments, enterprises and financial institutions adopt specialised security elements such as secure IDs and secure financial cards to authenticate users,” the statement said.
UPP will also focus on its new packaging segment, including for e-commerce, sustainable packaging and “smart packaging” requirements, it added.
(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
