Is This SPAC Stock One To Watch As Naftali Bennett Becomes Israel's New Prime Minister?

FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp FTOC, the blank-check firm which is set to take Payoneer public later this year could be under investors' radar on Monday as Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is reportedly an early investor in the payment-based fintech startup.

What Happened: Bennett, a successful entrepreneur-turned-politician, reportedly holds a stake currently worth $5 million in Payoneer, an investment he made 13 years ago. 

Payoneer wasn't the first tech firm to have received Bennett’s backing. Bennett co-founded the United States-based cybersecurity company Cyota in 1999. The company was sold for $145 million in 2005. He was also the CEO at Soluto, an Israeli cloud computing service, which was reportedly sold in 2013 for $100–130 million.

Why It Matters: Payoneer is set to go public with an implied Pro-forma enterprise value of $3.3 billion via the special purpose acquisition company FTAC Olympus Acquisition.

See Also: EXCLUSIVE: Payoneer CEO Talks Partnerships, Growth Strategy, Earnings On 'SPACs Attack'

The transaction is expected to close before the end of the second quarter following which the new company will be named Payoneer Global Inc.

Founded in 2005, Payoneer is a payment and commerce-enabling platform aimed at small businesses, marketplaces and enterprises from 190 countries. The startup delivers a suite of services that includes cross-border payments, working capital, tax solutions, merchant services and risk management.  

According to Payoneer CEO Scott Galit, the startup is working with nine of the largest 20 companies by market cap in the world. 

Price Action: FTOC shares closed 1.57% higher at $10.32 on Friday.

Photo by U.S. Secretary of Defense on Flickr