Fintech SPAC Led By Former TD Ameritrade CEO Seeks $225M IPO

A new fintech SPAC is coming to the market, led by the former CEO and current chairman of TD Ameritrade AMTD.

The Offering: FG New America Acquisition Corp FTAC will sell 22.5 million shares at $10 each. Each share comes with half a warrant good to purchase an additional share at $11.50. FG New America is looking to acquire a company with an enterprise value of $300 million to $600 million.

FG New America is seeking to find a company in the fintech or insurtech industries. It seeks to find a company that's changing technology for traditional insurance or financial services. The offering said it believes there are many targets in these two industries.

Benzinga will be holding its annual Benzinga Global Fintech Awards, a day of dealmaking, networking, and recognition in the financial technology space, on Nov. 10, 2020.

Led With Experience: The chairman of FG New America Acquisition is Joe Moglia. During his seven years as CEO of TD Ameritrade from 2001 to 2008, the company's market cap rose from $700 million to $10 billion. Shares increased 500% during that time and six straight record years were had from 2003 to 2008.

Back in June, the U.S. Department of Justice approved Charles Schwab's SCHW $26 billion takeover of TD Ameritrade.

"We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships will provide us with a substantial number of potential initial business combination targets," according to the offering.

SPAC Boom Continues: In 2019, SPACs hit a record with $12.4 billion raised, according to Bloomberg. SPACS have raised $32 billion so far in 2020 and represents 40% of the volume from this year’s IPOs.

More SPAC offerings continue to hit the market as there are plenty of options of companies to buy. Companies can skip roadshows and early share lockup periods by going public through a merger with a SPAC.

Tortoise Acquisition SHLL has been one of the best-performing SPACs of the year with shares up 287% thanks to announcing a merger with Hyliion. It was recently announced Tortoise Acquisition II will hit the market again looking for a company in the clean emissions automotive industry.

Virgin Galactic SPCE saw its shares go from $10 to $40 throughout its merger process from a SPAC. DraftKings DKNG shares are up 200% as another hot 2020 SPAC.

Bloomberg also mentions how investors are picking SPACs based on the companies or leaders behind them, which is important here given Moglia’s financial experience.