Kevin Durant and Thirty Five Ventures partner Rich Kleiman have filed for a special purpose acquisition company in partnership with LionTree, a media-focused investment bank. The SPAC, Infinite Acquisition, seeks to raise $200 million in an IPO.
Infinite, which filed its initial prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission overnight, wants to pursue “technology-enabled platforms, disrupting the traditional worlds of sports, health, wellness, food, commerce and culture through their unique relationship with the consumer,” according to the filing. “We believe the unique reach, influence access, prominence and investing track record of Mr. Durant and Mr. Kleiman, combined with the extensive scope of LionTree’s relationships, strategic network and proprietary deal flow, makes us a highly unique and differentiated partner.”
Durant, an NBA star with the Brooklyn Nets, started Thirty Five Ventures with Kleiman in 2016 to make venture capital and other investments. The duo has bought into the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, real estate in Maryland and companies including Coinbase, Robinhood, Acorns and Postmates. The fund has enjoyed remarkable returns on multiple investments this year. Durant and Kleiman are co-CEOs of Infinite. LionTree has been involved in deals across sports, consumer health and lifestyle. The company counts The Athletic, Ripken Baseball, FuboTV, and Genius Sports’ Second Spectrum among its investments. The SPAC is a 50-50 joint venture between Thirty Five and LionTree, meaning each are sponsors and splitting the costs of bringing the SPAC to market.
The chairman of the SPAC is Aryeh Bourkoff, LionTree founder. Alex Michael, co-head of LionTree Growth, is chief development officer for Infinite. James Rosenstock, who was head of WWE International for 18 months ending in June, is chief financial officer. Anré Williams, CEO of American Express National Bank; Sam Lessin of Slow Ventures; Annastasia Skilakos, CEO of Brilliant Minds Foundation; and Stacey Bendet, CEO of clothing brand Alice + Olivia, are on the board of directors.
Durant’s SPAC shows that the appetite for blank check companies appears to be returning after slumping badly in the spring. Durant’s effort joins active 137 other SPACs that have a sports focus or involve a sports figure. Like Infinite, 55 are in the midst of planning IPOs with a goal of raising some $13.3 billion from Wall Street, according to the Sportico Sports SPAC Tracker.
Infinite SPAC is seeking to raise its capital through the sale of 20 million units at $10 a piece. The unit will consist of one share and half a warrant, the right to buy an additional share at $11.50 later on. The SPAC will have 18 months to find a business to merge with, or else the IPO capital will need to be returned to shareholders.
A review of Durant’s draft prospectus from July, released overnight by the SEC with the formal filing, shows there are still some headwinds for SPACs, however. Infinite originally wanted units to offer just one-third of a warrant and give management 24 months to find a business combination. Increasing the partial warrant and decreasing the timeframe for a merger in the new prospectus are ways of making the offering more appealing to IPO investors. Credit Suisse is the underwriter, the investment bank that markets the deal.
(This article has been updated to correct the title of Alex Michael in the fourth paragraph.)