Bridgetown Holdings Ltd., the U.S.-listed blank-check company backed by billionaires Peter Thiel and Richard Li, is nearing a merger with financial technology firm Hyphen Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
The companies are finalizing the details of an agreement that could be announced as early as this month, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Bridgetown has conducted due diligence on Hong Kong-based Hyphen and the firms are holding final negotiations with both existing and prospective shareholders, the people said.
A transaction could value the combined entity at a few hundred million dollars and include a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, anchored by institutional investors, Bloomberg News has reported. Li is already among Hyphen’s investors.
While talks are at an advanced stage, they could still face delays, the people said. A representative for Bridgetown declined to comment, while Hyphen didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Bridgetown raised $595 million in a U.S. initial public offering in 2020. Its sponsor, Bridgetown LLC, is a collaboration between the PayPal Holdings Inc. founder’s Thiel Capital and Li’s investment flagship Pacific Century Group.
Hyphen has been working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to review funding options including a listing via a special purpose acquisition company or a private fundraising, Bloomberg News has reported. Its backers include Pacific Century, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Goldman Sachs, the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. and Experian Plc.
Hyphen, formerly known as CompareAsiaGroup, offers comparison tools for credit cards, personal loans, and other financial products, according to its website. It has over 10 million monthly users in markets including Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan.
