SERIAL dealmaker Martin E Franklin is in exploratory talks to list a new acquisition vehicle in London, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Jarden co-founder is working with UBS Group and Jefferies Financial Group to market the listed acquisition vehicle to investors, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. 

The vehicle to be called Admiral will be sponsored by Franklin’s family office Mariposa Capital and could list on the London Stock Exchange as soon as September, if it draws investor commitments of at least US$500 million, the people said. The offering will only proceed if it draws strong buyer interest, one of the people said. 

Representatives for Mariposa, UBS and Jefferies declined to comment.

Unlike a typical US-style special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Admiral won’t give founders free shares or redemption rights to investors, providing more certainty to the target company’s shareholders, the people said.

Franklin was one of the early blank-cheque pioneers, raising money for acquisitions as early as 2006 and taking companies including Nomad Foods public. He has been sceptical of the boom in SPACs over the past 2 years, warning in May that the blank-cheque craze was going to end badly and urged better governance of the business model.

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SPACs, which have no other business but to raise money for acquisitions, were initially heralded as a way to help companies get a public listing while avoiding some of the disclosure requirements of an initial public offering.

The SPAC market is now on tenterhooks, with investors cashing out of the vehicles at a fast clip as deals sour or disappear. Poor post-merger returns, an oversupply of blank-cheque firms and increased regulatory scrutiny mean many SPACs are trading at a discount to their trust values, making it all the more difficult for them to complete merger deals.

The banks that helped drive the SPAC boom have been distancing themselves from the process as regulators float guidelines that would expand liabilities for anyone advising a SPAC on a listing or merger. Interest rate hikes are also battering speculative trades, with investors becoming increasingly risk averse. BLOOMBERG