Israeli blank check co ION files to raise $200m on NYSE

Jonathan Kolber
Jonathan Kolber

Parent company ION Asset Management has $1.5 billion under management in its hedge fund.

Israeli blank check company ION Acquisition Group has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise $200-230 million in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the NYSE. Cowen is acting as sole underwriter for the offering. ION was founded by Stephen Levey and Jonathan Half's ION Asset Management hedge fund and they have been joined by other well known figures on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Jonathan Kolber serves as ION Acquisition Group's chairman and Gilad Shani as CEO.

Blank check companies are a growing trend worldwide. Such companies have no activities of their own and the capital is raised in order to buy a company. If such companies do not succeed in acquiring a company within two years then they must return money in full to shareholders. Parent company ION Asset Management has $1.5 billion under management in its hedge fund.

Kolber and Shani have successfully led ION Crossover, a growth fund that invests in more advanced early stage startups and helps them move towards an IPO, something it did very successfully with freelance services platform Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR).

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 17, 2020

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

Jonathan Kolber
Jonathan Kolber
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