Helios Investment Partners LLP plans to merge with Onyx Acquisition Co. I (NasdaqGM:ONYX) in a deal valued at nearly $1 billion, including debt, the blank-check firm said on January 18, 2023. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2024, will create a publicly listed energy transition infrastructure platform, Helios Energy Transition Infrastructure (HETI), focused on the development of natural gas and low-carbon energy infrastructure businesses and assets in Africa.

Helios is pushing ahead with its listing plans at a time few are. Rampant inflation, aggressive interest rake hikes and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war led investors to shun speculative investments like special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). A record number of companies opted for SPACs over traditional initial public offerings in 2021.

But regulatory concerns and heightened scrutiny seems to have cooled down Wall Street's hottest investment trend, with majority of SPACs trading below their offering prices.