Articles tagged “mondee”

You win some, you lose some. As quickly as SPACs soared on the hype, they lost much of their luster just as quickly on Wall Street. Travel SPACs were definitely no exception. Take a look at the numbers.

They did it. Despite the cratering of the stock market, Mondee went public on Nasdaq. Sure, most investors vetoed the blank check merger. But still, a win is a win — for now.

The air travel aggregator is likely to get a $1 billion valuation in a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. But its disclosures are thin, and paint something less than a picture of certain success.

This week, Germany's Raus topped up its investment to attract more city dwellers and nature enthusiasts to its cabin getaways, while Mondee secured $20 million as it gears up to go public.

Some recent efforts by businesses to go public via mergers with blank check companies have stalled or fizzled. But it's a vote of confidence in Mondee that Travelport's financial sponsors, Elliott Management and Siris Capital, are reportedly putting up money to support the travel tech company in going public.

Interest in special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, has fizzled. The sell-off in market silliness could mean that investing in a profitable leisure travel wholesaler like Mondee via a SPAC is no longer a high-risk calculation.

Mondee's highly tactical deal taps into Arthur J. Gallagher & Co's sprawling network of small businesses and associations, which could drive subscriptions for its TripPlanet platform.

Expect other travel tech players to pick up promising startups at a discount during the pandemic.