Columbus Circle Capital plans to merge with a firm controlled by Anthony Pompliano
Mr Quin is chief executive and chairman of special purpose acquisition corporation (Spac) Columbus Circle Capital Corporation, a blank-cheque firm that floated on the Nasdaq in May.
It is backed by New York-based boutique investment bank Cohen & Company Capital Markets.
Columbus Circle Capital raised $250m in gross proceeds when it floated, with Mr Quin retaining a 10pc stake in the business through founder shares.
Glazer Capital, headed by the so-called ‘Spac King’ Paul Glazer, has a 7.8pc stake in Columbus Circle. Glazer Capital said this week that it invested in the business because it believed it to be “an attractive investment opportunity”.
In June, the Spac confirmed it had signed a deal with Mr Pompliano, where his company, ProCap BTC, a bitcoin-focused financial services firm, would combine with the Spac to secure a stock-market listing for a new entity called ProCap Financial.
The same month, Mr Pompliano announced the purchase of 3,724 bitcoin at an average price of $103,785 per bitcoin. The acquisition was part of ProCap BTC’s ongoing bitcoin purchase programme, aiming to hold potentially up to $1bn in bitcoin post-merger.
The price of bitcoin has plunged about 25pc since then, to $79,716.
Glazer Capital said it is open to “engaging constructively” with Columbus Circle and ProCap BTC
Now Glazer Capital has said it does not believe that the proposed structure of the merger is in the interests of shareholders in Columbus Circle.
However, Glazer Capital said it is open to “engaging constructively” with Columbus Circle and ProCap BTC, “to explore potential modifications to the proposed business combination or related terms that could make the transaction more attractive and accretive for all stakeholders”.
Glazer Capital said in a statement to the stock market that in its current form, it intends to vote against the proposed combination of Columbus Circle and ProCap BTC. The merger is due to be voted on by shareholders on December 3.
It added that a potential path to “improving the alignment of interests among all stakeholders”, is “materially reducing” the sponsor’s so-called promote shares and certain transaction-related fees.
Glazer Capital said that a portion of the proceeds from doing so could be redistributed to preferred stockholders and public shareholders who do not redeem their shares in respect of the planned merger.
Glazer Capital said that such a move “could enhance the attractiveness of the proposed business combination, improve capital structure stability, and create a more balanced outcome for public and preferred investors”.
The sponsor group, including Mr Quin, owns a total of just over 25pc of the shares in Columbus Circle Capital Corporation. Mr Quin spearheaded the New York flotation of North Atlantic Acquisition Corporation (NAAC) in 2021. The Spac raised $330m. It planned to merge in 2022 with US-based tech business Telesign, which is owned by Belgian mobile phone company Proximus.
However, that deal later fell through and NAAC ultimately returned its funds to shareholders and was dissolved.
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