Shares of Hypebeast Ltd. jumped on Monday on news that the Hong Kong-headquartered lifestyle and culture company will list in the U.S. via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.
Shares rose as much as 42% to 1.15 Hong Kong dollars (15 U.S. cents) in early trading after the company said it plans to merge with Iron Spark I Inc. to trade on the Nasdaq.
The news was reported by The Wall Street Journal early Monday and subsequently confirmed in a Hong Kong stock-exchange filing by Hypebeast. The deal will value Hypebeast at more than $530 million after the investment, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hypebeast said in its filing that it expects the deal to result in about $180 million of total proceeds, including its SPAC sponsor’s rollover into the company and a $13.3 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE, transaction.
Hypebeast, whose business includes selling third-party branded clothing, shoes and accessories online, has been listed in Hong Kong since 2016.
The company estimates that revenue for the year ended March is at least $112 million, up 29% on year, it said in the filing. In the six months ended September, it posted profit equivalent to about $8.0 million, according to its earnings statement for the period.