Gores Group Launches Blank Check Company in $400 Million IPO

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Gores Group has completed the spinoff of its second blank check company, raising $400 million in the initial public offering for Gores Holdings II. The offering created 40 million shares priced at $10 each, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Beverly Hills-based Gores Group, along with Chairman and Chief Executive Alec Gores, will keep a 20 percent stake in the new company. Trading is set to begin under the “GSHT” ticker on the Nasdaq.

Gores Holdings II is poised to target mergers and acquisitions, but has not yet announced a specific plan. Its first blank-check company, Gores Holdings, raised $375 million in its initial public offering last August and shortly after acquired Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs, for $725 million.

Hostess Brands Inc. is now listed on the Nasdaq as “TWNK.” The company’s previous majority owners, Apollo Global Management and the family of Dean Metropoulos, retained a 42 percent stake in the company.

Gores Group announced the IPO for Gores Holdings II in early December, then planning to offer 37.5 million shares at $10 each.