SPAC-ing out... The market's been hot and cold recently. Even Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital has to agree. They've put a pause on their SPAC plans.

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🧐  Who you gotta B?

B Capital's an international VC firm based in Singapore and the US. They've got over $3.5B in assets under management and have eight portfolio companies in SEA.

• They have invested in over 145 companies globally.

They've got great taste. Their portfolio includes three unicorns!

Ninja Van, Carro, Kopi Kenangan, PayFazz (now known as Fazz Financial), Bukukas (now known as Lummo), Zipmex, Ula and Nektar. (Scoop fact: We've covered nearly all these companies!)

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⬅️  How did we get here?

Early last year, B Capital announced they'd join the SPAC train with a $300M listing on the Nasdaq through a SPAC called B Capital Technology Opportunities.

• They planned to offer 30M units at $10 per unit for the SPAC.
• The SPAC was then trimmed down to $200M from $300M in June last year.

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😬  It's just not a good time, man

They've got no current plans to do a SPAC for B Capital. They're also not pumped about any of their portfolio companies going for both the SPAC or traditional IPO route anytime soon— unless they're sustainably profitable.

We can't blame them! With the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the not-so-hot outcome of high-profile SPAC listings, it just doesn't seem like a positive environment for SPACs (or IPOs).

• Several companies like Indonesian fintech FinAccel have scrapped their plans for IPOs and SPACs