SINGAPORE, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate management teams, private equity firms, and key advisors will get a comprehensive update on the state of the SPAC market at the Southeast Asia SPAC Conference on "Alternative paths to public growth capital and liquidity for SEA corporates," to be held on March 7th, 2023 at Raffles Hotel, Singapore.

"The SPAC merger is an increasingly attractive option to raise capital and access public market liquidity in some of the world's deepest, most liquid markets," explained event host Crocker Coulson, CEO of AUM Media Inc, noting that SPACs have reached a third stage of evolution from a relatively obscure corner of corporate finance to a speculative frenzy and now a well-regulated alternative approach. "This is now a path to liquidity and growth capital in the public markets — or SPACs Version 3.0."

Southeast Asia has a unique combination of a profoundly entrepreneurial culture, an embrace of digitalization, and favorable demographic tailwinds that make it the next frontier for informed global investors. While media headlines might suggest that the SPAC market has retrenched, many funded SPACs are seeking viable merger targets and can provide a faster path to public status. As of February 2nd, 2023, 356 SPACs with $82.7 billion in trust have yet to announce acquisition targets.

"The international IPO market is largely frozen due to the adjustment to a higher interest rate environment and compression in the valuation of many growth-oriented, speculative equities," Coulson continued. "A significant number of growth companies across Southeast Asia are reaching the threshold to be attractive to international investors and will require access to public capital markets to meet their full potential, consolidate their industry positions, and provide liquidity to existing private equity investors."

This is an invitation-only, one-day event that will also be available via webcast. To request your registration, please visit https://www.southeastasiaspacs.com

Conference Agenda

• State of the SPAC IPO Market
  •  Learn what it takes to get deals done under the most challenging market conditions with an up-to-the-minute perspective on what deals are viable and what it takes to cross the finish line.
• Southeast Asia as Next Frontier for US Listings
  • The outlook for IPOs and de-SPACs from Southeast Asia, investor interest in the region, and critical challenges for companies to address before going public.
• The New Regulatory Regime for de-SPACs
  • experienced lawyers and advisors in the SPAC arena and has had extensive discussions with regulators and legislators in Washington, DC, about their concerns. He will speak in detail about how the regulatory regime has changed and what to expect next as the SPAC format continues to evolve.
• Keys to a Successful de-SPAC Transaction: IR and Investor Marketing
  • While recent SEC reforms were initially seen as a negative, the result will likely be a far more robust listing vehicle that works for companies and investors, or "SPAC Version 3.0."
• Getting from Announcement to Close
  •  Some of the most experienced players in the SPAC sector provide a roadmap on how to get from announcement to close.
• Strategies For Winter: Options to Sustain Growth When Capital Has a Cost
  • The experienced panel will help company founders and CEOs walk through the decision tree of the best strategy to sustain growth and provide liquidity to existing shareholders, including the pluses and minuses of a "structured" equity investment, venture debt, secondary venture market, and a SPAC merger versus waiting for the IPO market to recover.
• The Role of the Auditor in de-SPAC Transaction
  • One of the most experienced auditors of cross-border listings of Asian companies on NASDAQ and NYSE offers guidance on obtaining a PCAOB-compliant audit, often the most common source of delay in completing the de-SPAC transaction
• Panel: Success as a Public Company
  • Leaders discuss how completing the de-SPAC is only the beginning of your life as a public company. Sophisticated management teams and advisors will consider the de-SPAC as the first phase of a multi-year strategy to access growth capital, consolidate their industries, and build shareholder value.

Conference Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

• AUM Media provides comprehensive communications, investor relations, public relations, and visibility support across every stage of the SPAC lifecycle to ensure that our clients can achieve favorable transaction outcomes.
• Loeb & Loeb LLP is a multi-service law firm with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Nashville, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
• MarcumAsia is an independent public accounting firm with a strong focus on cross-border services for public and private companies. We are one of the leading providers of audit and assurance services to Chinese companies listed on the U.S. stock markets and have offices in major cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou.

Gold Sponsors

• Albeck Financial Services provides financial reporting expertise and specialized transactional services to small- to mid-cap companies, to help them meet regulatory requirements and to assist with their technical needs. We prepare our clients for the financial reporting challenges and opportunities that regulatory bodies and the marketplace present.
• Chardan Capital Markets is an independent, full-service, global investment bank focused on bringing disruptive innovation to corporate and institutional clients. Chardan has a leading SPAC practice, with a 20-year history, having been involved in 121 SPAC IPOs with over $15bn in transaction value, 51 business combinations with over $22bn in transaction value, and 15 sponsored/co-sponsored SPACs with over $1.4bn in transaction value.
• Maxim Group is a leading full-service investment bank, securities and wealth management firm headquartered in mid-town Manhattan. We provide a comprehensive array of financial services including investment banking, global institutional sales, equity research, fixed income and derivative sales & trading, merchant capital, private wealth management, and prime brokerage services to a diverse range of corporate clients, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
• Morrow Sodali is a leading provider of strategic advice and shareholder services to corporate clients around the world. The firm provides corporate boards and executives with strategic advice and services relating to corporate governance, shareholder and bondholder communication and engagement, capital markets intelligence, proxy solicitation, shareholder activism and mergers and acquisitions.
• Tiger Brokers uses its next-generation technology to enable clients to trade a wide range of securities across multiple global markets and currencies. Clients may use Tiger's flagship mobile trading APP, Tiger Trade, to trade equities in The U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, as well as futures, options, and funds.

Silver Sponsors

• Kroll provides data, technology, and insights for risk, governance, and growth. Compliance, corporate finance, restructuring, cyber, investigations, disputes, valuation.
• Lockton Companies, the world's largest privately owned, independent insurance broker, serves more than 65,000 clients across six continents with risk management, insurance, employee benefits consulting and retirement services.

Organizing Sponsor

• Aetherium Acquisition Corp. is a Nasdaq-listed SPAC (Ticker: GMFI) with $116m in trust. The Company aims to acquire one and more businesses and assets via a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, and reorganization.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact:

Crocker Coulson, CEO, AUM Media
crocker.coulson@aummedia.org
+1 (646) 652-7185

Media Contact:
Brian Smith, AUM Media
brian.smith@aummedia.org 
+1 (203) 668-4621