Wall Street banks are rethinking their involvement in the listings of special purpose acquisition companies in the Middle East’s nascent market as new liability guidelines from US regulators chill the once red-hot industry.
Middle East SPAC sponsors such as Gulf Capital and Investcorp were initially in talks with Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. respectively, but they are likely to rely on local banks to finalize the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s unclear what role either US bank will play, if any.
