NNPA NEWSWIRE — Led by Mr. Shawn Rochester, Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc.’s Chairman and CEO, and Ms. Robin Watkins, its Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, the blank check company will focus its business combination search and transactions on historically undercapitalized minority-owned/controlled businesses in various industry sectors across the country.
Washington, DC – On August 26, 2021, Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc. (“MEOA”) became the first minority-led special purpose acquisition company or SPAC listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“NASDAQ”), trading under the ticker symbol “MEOAU.”
Led by Mr. Shawn Rochester, MEOA’s Chairman and CEO, and Ms. Robin Watkins, its Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, the blank check company will focus its business combination search and transactions on historically undercapitalized minority-owned/controlled businesses in various industry sectors across the country.
On August 30, 2021, MEOA closed its $126.5 million upsized IPO of units, which included the exercise in full by the underwriters of their over-allotment options. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one redeemable warrant, each warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “MEOA” and MEOAW, respectively.
Sphere 3D Corp. (NASDAQ: ANY), a Toronto, ON, based virtualization and data solutions company, sponsored the SPAC. Jarvis Stewart, Chairman and CEO, HP Global Advisors, a Black-owned corporate development and strategy firm, advised Sphere 3D and its subsidiary that sponsored MEOA during the SPAC and IPO process.
“The mission and purpose of MEOA will help to catapult minority enterprise in this country,” said Mr. Rochester. “As a SPAC, we have the opportunity to not only help drive significant change and unleash superior performance but to also signal to the broader marketplace that there is tremendous value in companies and teams that have long been ignored.”
In addition to Mr. Rochester and Ms. Watkins, MEOA directors are majority-minority including, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, MIT economist and Dean, College of Ethnic Studies, Cal State Los Angeles, Mr. Ronald Busby, Sr., President and CEO, US Black Chamber, Inc., and Mr. Patrick Linehan, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson.
To further demonstrate its commitment to racial equity and economic inclusion, MEOA engaged the Industrial Bank of Washington, one of the country’s preeminent Black-owned institutions, for its working capital banking needs during the SPAC and IPO process.
“I have long been a believer in MBEs and their untapped potential,” said Sphere 3D CEO Peter Tassiopoulos. “MBEs not only fortify economic diversity across various industries but, given the opportunity, will strengthen the social fabric of America. Sphere 3D is proud to have played a role in MEOA’s initial public offering. MEOA’s management team and directors are uniquely qualified to position acquisition targets for exponential growth.”
A registration statement relating to the securities sold in the initial public offering was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 25, 2021. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from Maxim Group LLC, 300 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, New York 10022, at (212) 895-3500, or by visiting EDGAR on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Maxim Group LLC acted as the sole book-running manager for the initial public offering.
