Europe Markets: Branson reportedly eyes Amsterdam for first European SPAC

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Billionaire Richard Branson is reportedly looking to Amsterdam rather than London for his first European-listed special purpose acquisition company.

Sky News reported that Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, is looking at a €200 million ($226 million) listing on the Euronext Amsterdam. Branson has already taken Virgin Galactic
SPCE,
+7.34%

and Virgin Orbit
VORB,
+6.32%

public through mergers with blank-check companies in the U.S., and Virgin’s SPACs have merged with 23andMe
ME,

and set plans to do so with Grove Collaborative
VGII,
+0.20%
.

Euronext
ENX,
-2.54%

says it accounted for 49% of new SPACs listed in Europe last year. The U.K. last year relaxed SPAC rules in an effort to bring them to the London Stock Exchange
LSEG,
+0.65%
.

European stocks turned lower Friday after the U.S. jobs report showed a further decline in the unemployment rate and a pickup in wages, even as there was a smaller-than-forecast 199,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls.

The German DAX
DAX,
-0.52%

dropped 0.8% and the French CAC 40
PX1,
-0.25%

dropped 0.5%, while the FTSE 100
UKX,
+0.27%

traded steady, as the rise in bond yields boosted the financial sector, and the pickup in oil prices helped lift energy producers including BP
BP,
+1.52%
.

STMicroelectronics
STM,
+6.06%

rallied 5% in Milan after the chipmaker guided for a stronger-than-forecast fourth quarter.