What’s new: Crypto mining platform Bitdeer Technologies Holding Co. has gotten the go-ahead from the U.S. securities regulator to float on the Nasdaq through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Blue Safari Group Acquisition Corp., the SPAC, announced Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had greenlit the registration statement for the proposed merger. Its shareholders will meet April 11 to vote on the deal.
The merger is expected to give Bitdeer an approximate $1.18 billion implied equity value — an estimation of its value available to owners or shareholders — according to the announcement.
Previous Blue Safari announcements show that the deal had been delayed three times.
SPACs are shell companies floated specifically to raise funds for an acquisition. They boomed in popularity in recent years, particularly with firms from new economy sectors, which could struggle to get a desirable valuation through a traditional IPO.
The background: Singapore-based Bitdeer was founded by entrepreneur Wu Jihan, a well-known figure in the Chinese cryptocurrency industry.
In 2013, he co-founded crypto mining equipment giant Bitmain Technologies with Zhan Ketuan. The pair wrestled for control of the company in 2019. Wu left Bitmain in early 2021 and is now chairman of Bitmain spinoff Bitdeer.
In 2021, Beijing doubled down on a blanket cryptocurrency ban, accelerating an exodus of crypto businesses including exchanges and mining companies.
Read more In Depth: The Fall of China’s Last Bitcoin Mining Haven
Contact reporter Zhang Yukun (yukunzhang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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