Chinese blank check company New Frontier makes NYSE debut

NEW YORK - Chinese blank check company (or SPAC, special purpose acquisition company) New Frontier Corporation debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday.

SPACs are shell companies that have no operations but go public with the intention of merging with or acquiring a company with the proceeds of the SPAC's initial public offering (IPO).

New Frontier, trading under the ticker symbol of "NFC.U", announced its IPO of 25 million units at a price of $10 per unit.

Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share.

The company has granted underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,750,000 additional units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any.

The fund raised will mainly be used to acquire new businesses with great potentials in China including education, health care and technology, said Antony Leung, chairman and co-founder of New Frontier.

"Listing on the NYSE is a key step to promote further development of our company," Leung told Xinhua.

"We happened to know that we are the first non-US SPAC listed on NYSE, so it's really significant," he added.

Based in Hong Kong, New Frontier Corp was formed by New Frontier Public Holding Ltd, an affiliate of New Frontier Group, for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. New Frontier Group is a China-focused investment group that invests in, builds and operates diversified businesses in the Chinese new economy sectors.

Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank are serving as joint bookrunners for the offering.