Two industry veterans launched а special purpose acquisition company launched on the Nasdaq stock exchange, following a $200 million initial public offering. 

Industry Veterans Have Launched a SPAC

The initial public offering saw the company, going by the name Bullpen Parlay Acquisition Co, sell a total of 20 million shares at a price of $10 per piece. The units, listed as BPACU, are comprised of a class A ordinary share (BPAC) plus half of a warrant (BPACW). Additionally, whole warrants can be acquired for one ordinary share for $11.50.

The company’s prospectus reads that the team behind it believes in the online real money gaming, technology, sports, digital media, hospitality, and leisure industries which “possess attractive potential business combination targets that have ample opportunity for growth and the potential to provide long-term shareholder value.”

The company was launched thanks to David VanEgmond, a former executive at FanDuel and Barstool Sports, and Paul Martino, a former board member of FanDuel. As a result, VanEgmond will serve as Bullpen’s first chief executive officer, while Martino will assume the role of an executive chairman of the company.

Both men are experienced industry individuals who aren’t strangers to mergers and acquisitions. The two of them participated in the acquisition of the company by Flutter Entertainment. 

Other Notable Figureheads Join Bullpen Parlay Acquisition Co

Duncan Davidson and Eric Wiessen, two partners of the venture capital firm Bullpen Capital, will also hold positions in the new company, with Wiessen stepping into the shoes of a president and Davidson supporting him as the executive vice president.  Other seasoned iGaming figures will also take positions of directors in Bullpen Parlay Acquisition Co. 

Les Ottolenghi is one of the new directors. Ottolenghi has previously worked as an executive vice president at Caesars and at Las Vegas Sands and has significant experience in the field. The same applies to Brett Calapp, a former chief social gaming officer at Pala Interactive, and Melissa Blau from iGaming Capital, who will also become directors at the SPAC. Bullpen Parlay Acquisition Co’s goal is to have an initial acquisition within 18 months of operations. 

The merger with a special purpose acquisition company is a fairly new approach that betting operators in the United States have adopted since 2018. It provides a way for such companies to go public that is much simpler than a usual initial public offering listing. Some of the big names in betting, including DraftKings, Genius Sports, Rush Street Interactive, and Super Group, have chosen this approach, although some other operators, such as Sportradar and Wynn Interactive, have refrained from signing such deals.