EdtechX Holdings, an investment platform focused on the future of education and work, is listing a second SPAC IPO on the Nasdaq (NASDAQ:EDTXU), EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp II (EdtechX Holdings II).EdtechX Holdings is the leading European investment platform for edtech and has the backing of the specialist edtech investment bank IBIS Capital (100-plus M&A transactions) and the EdtechX conference series.
According to the prospectus filed, the SPAC intends to invest in companies in the private education, training and education technology sectors, with targets ranging from $400m to $2bn in enterprise value. Targets will be located predominantly in the US, and also in Europe and Asia (excluding China).
EdTechX Holdings II is managed by the Franco-British duo of financiers Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet (CEO) and Charles McIntyre (Chairman). The EdTechX Holdings II prospectus pioneers the inclusion of a “SPACs For Good” pledge from Benjamin and Charles to grant up to 4 per cent of their SPAC founders shares to not for profit initiatives supporting the digitalisation of education and digital inclusion in education.
The “SPACs for Good” pledge is an invitation to other SPACs founders and sponsor teams to pledge a minimum of 1 per cent of their founders shares (or $1M worth of shares) as a grant to support endowments and non for profit initiatives involved in education, health, environment, diversity and tech inclusion. The co-founders hope to establish the “SPACs For Good” pledge as a market standard.
Vedrenne-Cloquet and McIntyre are owners of both IBIS Capital, a London based investment bank focused on the education technology industry with more than 100 M&A transactions in the sector, and EdtechX Global, a thematic research and events platform curating the Future of Education and Work ecosystem globally.
