UK-based IT firm Noventiq scraps SPAC deal to list on Nasdaq

(Reuters) - London-headquartered information technology firm Noventiq and special purpose acquisition company Corner Growth Acquisition have mutually agreed to terminate their blank-check deal, the companies said on Thursday.

The two last year struck a SPAC deal that would have resulted in the combined company being publicly listed on U.S. exchange Nasdaq.

Blank-check firms, also known as SPACs, are shell companies that raise money in an initial public offering to merge with a private company and take it public.

The deal has been scrapped as a result of the current unfavorable SPAC market conditions and other factors, the companies said.

Noventiq, which provides cybersecurity and artificial intelligence technology, has determined that the right decision for the company is to remain private at this time, CEO Herve Tessler said.

A hallmark of pandemic-era dealmaking, SPACs have fallen out of favor in recent years following intense scrutiny from the U.S. securities regulator.

Last week, blank-check firm Mountain & Co. I Acquisition and FC Barcelona also terminated their SPAC deal that would have seen the Spanish soccer club's digital media arm list on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey)