Venable represented Avalon Acquisition Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAC), a publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company, in its signing of the definitive merger agreement with the Beneficient Company Group, L.P., a technology-enabled platform providing liquidity, data, custody, and trust services to holders of alternative assets, that will result in Beneficient becoming publicly listed. The deal is valued at $3.5 billion.
The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2023. Upon the closing, assuming no public stockholders redeem their shares, existing Beneficient shareholders are expected to continue owning 88 percent of the combined company, with public stockholders expected to own 10 percent, and Avalon sponsors expected to own 2 percent.
The Venable team included Bill Haddad and Arif Soto.
The deal was covered by Law360, MarketWatch, and Reuters, among other publications.