Singapore's Asia Innovations Group plans U.S. listing via $2.5 billion SPAC merger

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Singapore-based mobile app developer Asia Innovations Group Limited (ASIG) said on Friday it would go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that values the combined entity at $2.5 billion.

The move by ASIG to merge with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Magnum Opus Acquisition Ltd would bring estimated gross proceeds of $200 million in cash, which Magnum Opus raised via its own initial public offering in May 2021.

ASIG, which runs live-streaming app Uplive and e-commerce platform Hekka, is also targeting up to $150 million from an additional capital raising, it said in a statement.

The funds will support growth of ASIG's products as well as acquisition opportunities, ASIG said.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, pending regulatory approvals, it added.

SPACs are shell firms that raise money from institutional and retail investors via market listings, and put it in a trust for the purpose of merging with a private company and taking it public.

ASIG said it tapped Kirkland & Ellis, Evercore, Incentrum Securities and XCap Partners as advisors for the merger, while White & Case advised Magnum Opus.

(Reporting by Roxanne Liu in Beijing and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Jamie Freed)

By Roxanne Liu and Kane Wu