Alexander Saverys-led Hunter Maritime Acquisition has struck a merger deal with a Chinese financial technology company in an all-stock transaction worth $2bn.
Nasdaq-listed Hunter Maritime Acquisition, a Saverys family-controlled blank cheque vehicle, said on 5 October it has established a wholly-owned subsidiary to merge with NCF Wealth Holdings.
The transaction values NCF at an equity value of $2bn, and Hunter Maritime has agreed to issue 200 million common shares to NCF shareholders at the closing of the merger.
NCF shareholders will also be entitled to receive up to 50 million additional shares if Hunter Maritime meets certain financial performance targets for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years.
NCF operates an online consumer and business finance marketplace in China, generating revenue from fees charged to borrowers for services in matching them with lenders through its online platform.
NCF does not itself finance the loans offered on its platform with its own funds.
Hunter Maritime extending deadline
Under the company's current charter, Hunter Maritime must go through this deal by 23 November this year.
Hunter Maritime will call a special meeting of its shareholders to extend the termination date for a period of five months until 23 April to give it sufficient time to complete the merger.
In a separate statement, Hunter Maritime said it has tendered an offer to purchase up to 14,173,100 of its Class A common shares — the vast majority of its current share count — at a purchase price of $10 per share, funding the purchase with cash.
At the time of writing, Hunter Maritime's share price rose $0.02 to $9.97 after the close of business day.
