Gores II = 1C + 1/5W (FILED)
1W + $11.50. Call $18.
Term = 24 months.
Trust = $10.00. $400.0 million or $460.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit) will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Computershare Trust Company, N.A. as trustee
DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES & CITIGROUP
We intend to focus our search for a target business in the consumer products and services industry, but may also pursue acquisition opportunities in any business industry or sector, which complements our management team’s operating experience. We intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify, acquire and manage a business that can benefit from our operational expertise, as members of our management team have done in diverse sectors, including industrials, technology, telecommunications, media and entertainment, business services, healthcare and consumer products. This operationally-oriented investment approach has served The Gores Group well since its founding in 1987.
Our team is led by Dean Metropoulos, our Chairman, and Alec Gores, our Chief Executive Officer, who together have more than 65 years of combined experience as entrepreneurs, operators and private equity investors. Over the course of their careers, Mr. Metropoulos and Mr. Gores and their respective teams have invested in more than 180 portfolio companies through varying macroeconomic environments with a consistent, operationally-oriented investment strategy. Our sponsor is equally owned by affiliates of each of Mr. Metropoulos and Mr. Gores.
Mr. Metropoulos is a private equity, transformative investor and operator for over 30 years often partnering with private equity firms like Apollo Global Management (“Apollo”) and others, specializing in investments in the consumer branded products industries. Over the last three decades, Mr. Metropoulos has been involved with numerous acquisitions having earned returns that rank in the top tier of private equity investments, including the acquisition (together with Apollo) of Hostess Brands, Inc. (“Hostess”), one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of sweet baked goods, in April 2013. In November 2016, Gores Holdings, Inc. (“Gores Holdings I”), a blank check company formed for substantially similar purposes as our company, acquired Hostess. By developing and revitalizing consumer brands and enhancing operating performance Mr. Metropoulos has created significant value in numerous transactions, including the acquisitions of Pabst Brewing Company (“Pabst Brewing”), Utz Quality Foods LLC (“Utz Quality Foods”), Pinnacle Foods Group, Inc. (“Pinnacle Foods”) (Swanson/Hungry-Man, Vlasic Pickles, Open Pit Barbeque Sauce, Duncan Hines, Log Cabin Syrup, Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup, Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast, Mrs. Paul’s Seafood, Van De Kamp’s Seafood, Celeste Pizza and Lender’s Bagels), Aurora Foods, Stella Foods, The Morningstar Group, International Home Foods (Chef Boyardee, Pam Cooking Spray, Gulden’s Mustard and Bumble Bee Tuna), Ghirardelli Chocolate, Mumm and Perrier Jouet Champagnes, Hillsdown Holdings, PLC (Premier International Foods, Burtons Biscuits and Christie Tyler Furniture), National Waterworks and Hostess, among others.
Mr. Gores is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Gores Group, a global investment firm focused on acquiring businesses that can benefit from the firm’s operating expertise. Mr. Gores implemented an operational approach to private equity investing when he founded The Gores Group in 1987 by operating businesses alongside management, or in some cases in lieu of management, to build value in those entities. Since then, the firm has acquired more than 120 businesses including a current portfolio of 8 active companies worldwide. Under Mr. Gores’ leadership, The Gores Group has effected a number of successful corporate carve-out acquisitions over the last two decades. The Gores Group acquired VeriFone from Hewlett-Packard Company at a time when the business was generating significant revenues, but was cash flow negative. The Gores Group implemented dramatic changes to the business, and the business was sold and subsequently went public with an operating partner from The Gores Group serving as its chief executive officer. During that same timeframe, The Gores Group acquired The Learning Company from Mattel Corporation and transformed that business which, similarly, was generating significant revenues, but was suffering from severely negative cash flow. Since then, with Mr. Gores leading the firm, The Gores Group has created significant value in numerous transactions, including the acquisitions of Global Tel*Link from Schlumberger Ltd., Stock Building Supply from Wolseley plc, Therakos from Johnson & Johnson, the electronics power systems business from TE Connectivity Ltd., Siemens Enterprise Communications from Siemens AG and Sagem Communications from the Safran Group, among others. Mr. Gores began his career as a self-made entrepreneur and operating executive. In 1978, he self-funded and founded Executive Business Systems (EBS), a developer and distributor of vertical business software systems. Within seven years, EBS had become a leading value-added reseller in Michigan and employed over 200 people. In 1986, CONTEL purchased EBS, and Mr. Gores subsequently began acquiring and operating non-core businesses from major corporations and building value in those entities, a decision that ultimately led to the founding of what has evolved into The Gores Group today.