Brazil's Lavoro to list in U.S. through $1.2 bln SPAC deal (updated)

Lavoro

15/09/2022 13:33

(Adds investment details, background)
    Sept 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's Lavoro Ltd said on Thursday it
would go public in the United States through a merger with
special purpose acquisition company TPB Acquisition Corp I
 TPBA.O , in a deal that values the agricultural products
retailer at $1.2 billion.
    The deal is expected to rake in $225 million of cash
proceeds for Lavoro, including a $100 million private placement
from the SPAC's backer The Production Board, Sao Paulo-based
Lavoro said.
    Lavoro, founded in 2017, offers seeds, fertilizers and crop
protection products, among others.
    The company said it expects to record $2.3 billion of
revenue in 2022, up 63% from last year. The new capital would be
used for retail expansion, acquisitions and to introduce new
products, Lavoro added.
    A SPAC is a publicly listed shell company that raises funds
with the intention of merging with a private company within two
years of floating its shares. The private firm goes public
through the merger.
    The SPAC sector has been torpedoed by several scrapped deals
this year as market turbulence due to inflation and rising
interest rates spook startups looking to go public.

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza and Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com))