ImpactAlpha, February 11 — Former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick is teaming up with a private equity firm founded by Phoenix Suns minority owner and businessman Jahm Najafi.
Kaepernick and The Najafi Cos. are floating a blank check company, Mission Advancement Corp., to raise $250 million to acquire a company at “the intersection of consumer and impact.” An SEC filing indicates the SPAC is looking for enterprises worth more than $1 billion.
Najafi is listed as CEO of Mission Advancement; he and Kaepernick will be co-chairmen. Among the directors: Google’s Attica Jaques, Birchbox’s Katia Beauchamp and Omar Johnson, ex- of Apple.
SPAC attack
Blank check companies raised nearly $26 billion In January, a monthly record.
Some of the action: EVgo, a Los Angeles-based electric-vehicle charging operator, is going public via a climate SPAC. Sustainable Development Acquisition I Corp. from Renewable Resource Group and Capricorn Investment Group is looking to acquire companies aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Capital is looking to invest in companies supporting “the electrification of industry and society.”
