€250 million raised
Paris – 22 April 2016 – EnterNext, the Euronext subsidiary dedicated to promoting and growing the market for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), today celebrated Mediawan's listing in the professional compartment of its regulated market in Paris. Mediawan is a SPAC or Special Purpose Acquisition Company, set up to acquire one or more companies specializing in traditional and digital media or entertainment in Europe. The operation constitutes the first listing of a SPAC in France. To mark the company’s first day of trading, Mediawan's co-founder and chairman of the management board Pierre-Antoine Capton rang the Euronext markets opening bell.
A SPAC is a special-purpose vehicle designed to raise capital on the stock exchange with a view to making one or several acquisitions in the 24 months following listing, for an amount equal to at least 75% of total funds raised. An innovative financing vehicle, SPACs operate according to some of the management and investment mechanisms employed for private-equity funds, while offering investors all the guarantees offered by the Bourse, including transparency, liquidity, voting rights, information, safety and regulation.
Mediawan was listed in the professional compartment of Euronext Paris through the admission to trading of 25,000,000 preferred shares (ticker code: MDWP) and 25,000,000 equity warrants for common shares (ticker code: MDWBS). Securities were placed with qualified investors at €10.00 per unit (each unit consisting of one preferred share and one equity warrant) allowing Mediawan to raise €250 million.
Following the listing ceremony, Pierre-Antoine Capton, Mediawan's co-founder and chairman of the management board, said: “We are very happy and proud that Mediawan—France's first SPAC—is now listed on Euronext, and we look forward to setting up a European media content and entertainment platform for the world market right here in Paris.”