Overture SPAC: What's On Its Shopping List?

Whenever a new blank-check company registers to go public, we try to plumb the depths of its filing to figure out what kind of acquisition it might strike with its newly raised capital. Usually, the company gives the boilerplate "We do not have any specific initial business combination under consideration," so we're forced to look at the resumes of its management to try to predict whether the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, will go shopping for a technology company.

SPACs also known as "blank-check" companies, are founded without an operating business. Once they go public, they have 18 months to complete a deal using about 80% of their net assets. SPACs that fail to make an acquisition are liquidated, and the cash is returned to shareholders.

In some cases, such as when former Apple Inc. (AAPL) and National Semiconductor Inc. (NSM) CEO Gil Amelio and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak launched a SPAC, it's pretty obvious which direction the company is headed (their company, Acquicor Technology Inc., acquired Jazz Semiconductor Inc. (JAZ) for $260 million in 2006).

In the case of Overture Acquisition Corp., which began trading Thursday on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker (NLX.U), the deal on its horizon could very well be tech-related. Or it could spend its $150 million on wine, or coffee.

Overture's chairman and CEO, John Hunt, has founded six companies. On the tech front, he founded Obongo Inc., which developed a technology that remembered one's payment information for Internet purchases. Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley startup struggled through the dot-com meltdown before selling to AOL Time Warner for undisclosed terms in 2001. British-born Hunt also founded Syzygy AG, an Internet professional services firm.

Then again, he also started the Seattle Coffee Co., which was acquired by Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and he currently oversees Oriel LLC, a wine company.

But with other tech expertise on Overture's board, including Lawton Fitt, a former tech banker from Goldman, Sachs & Co. who sits on networking equipment maker Ciena Corp.'s (CIEN) board, we'll bet -- a small wager, mind you -- that this SPAC might plunk down for something in the technology sector. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis

See Overture profile from Renaissance Capital's IPOhome
See Overture's S-1 from SEC.gov
See October 2006 story from TheDeal.com