Shibasish Sarkar on course to list SPAC on NASDAQ to raise $200mn

Mumbai, July 5 (IANS) International Media Acquisition Corp (IMAC), the SPAC-founded by Group CEO of Reliance Entertainment, Shibasish Sarkar, currently is on course to list on NASDAQ, as it seeks to raise $200 million with the IPO in the next 12 to 18 months.Additionally, the listing also has an over-allotment option of three million units marked for underwriters to cover over-allotment, if any. IMAC has refiled their prospectus with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 25, after valuation of the warrant as mandated by SEC, and are currently reported to be holding road shows.IMAC is among a handful of India-related SPACs floating IPOs in the US, and sole India-related SPAC in the entertainment sector currently.The SPAC, expected to list in the second half of July, is led by Shibasish Sarkar as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and is understood to be supported by members of India’s film industry including Rohit Shetty, Imtiaz Ali, Neeraj Pandey, Luv Ranjan, Mani Ratnam, Ajay Devgn and Vidyut Jammwal. Apart from the lead actors and directors, other supporters of the venture reportedly include producers and media conglomerates such as Bhushan Kumar, Mumbai Movie Studio, Supriya Yarlagadda of Annapurna Studios, BVSN Prasad (SVCC), S. Shashikant (Y Not Studios), Deepa Tracy (Storiculture), Vishwa Prasad (People Media) and Syed Taher Ali (Taher Cine Tekniq).An entity affiliated with Shibasish Sarkar is reported to have already committed to buying units worth at least $7.14 million and up to $7.96 million if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option.IMAC is different from most other SPACs in that it wants to acquire a company in the media, entertainment and technology industry — a sector where the coronavirus pandemic has had a mixed impact. While traditional cinema and entertainment venues have suffered under lockdowns, streaming services and gaming have seen a significant uptick. Therefore, IMAC sees Covid as an opportunity to acquire companies with positive operating cash flow or clear paths to positive operating cash flow, significant assets, and strong management teams, with a particular focus on the India opportunity.It intends to target companies with enterprise value of between $150 million and $500 million. However, the fair market value of the target business will be a minimum of $160 million to meet Nasdaq’s rules for SPACs. If IMAC exercises the over-allotment option, the minimum fair market value will go up to $184 million.The prospectus filed with the SEC describes India as a mobile digital-first economy, as well as the market that sells the most cinema tickets in the world — pointing to the opportunities IMAC sees in the market.–IANSym/vnc