Deals

Investors Can’t Get Enough of Europe’s New SPAC Kingpins

Ex-Credit Suisse boss Thiam raises $300m in upsized offering
Money flows into blank-check firms from region’s dealmakers

Tidjane Thiam
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg

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By Myriam Balezou, Yuliya Fedorinova, and Ben Scent

February 26, 2021 at 5:04 PM UTC

Updated on

February 26, 2021 at 5:48 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Investors are rushing to back Europe’s emerging SPAC stars, from ex-Credit Suisse Group AG boss Tidjane Thiam to former Deutsche Bank AG dealmaker Garth Ritchie.

Thiam raised $300 million for a special purpose acquisition company focused on deals in the financial industry, up from an initial $250 million target, according to a statement Friday. He joins a clutch of seasoned leaders in Europe that are seeing soaring demand for their blank-check firms, helped by the relative scarcity of issuers from the region looking to tap American investors.