Crown PropTech Acquisitions (CPTK) Inks Non-Redemption Agreements

Crown PropTech Acquisitions (NYSE:CPTK) announced in an 8-K this morning that it is offering certain investors a share of promote shares in exchange for not redeeming their Class A shares at an upcoming February 7 extension vote.

The move comes as the SPAC is completing a management shuffle and transition in the ownership of its sponsor. On January 17, Crown PropTech announced it had transferred 82% of its promote shares to CIIG Management III, whose representatives have taken over most of the SPAC’s leadership positions.

That new management is now seeking to extend the SPAC’s lifespan by a full year, bumping its deadline from February 11 to the same date in 2024. To help secure this relatively long extension, the sponsor has offered to distribute 150,000 promote shares (about 2.2%) to some non-redeeming shareholders, but the filing does not make clear how many shares are covered by the agreement.

Crown PropTech IPO’d in February 2021, but is currently still searching for a business combination target after its initial deal with smart building solutions provider Brivo fell through. Back in August 2022, Brivo sent a letter to the SPAC terminating the deal since it had not been completed by the outside date.

Moving forward, the transition to the CIIG team at the helm could indicate a shift away from the SPAC’s namesake sector focus. The team’s two previous deals were struck with EV companies Arrival (NASDAQ:ARVL) and British e-bike maker Zapp.