Following the collapse of an arrangement to go public via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Opa-locka, Florida-based charter operator Verijet is turning to the private-equity market. Former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is joining its board, “accompanied by significant private investment,” Verijet co-founder and chief experience officer Allison Kane confirmed.
The operator, which provides charter services in the Southeast, Northeast, and West Coast with a fleet of 19 Cirrus SF50 Vision Jets, recently entered a nonbinding letter of intent for a business combination with the SPAC New Vista Acquisition Corp. to go public. But within weeks of the announcement of that agreement on February 1, New Vista Capital opted to liquidate the SPAC, which was led by Muilenburg.
“We determined that liquidating New Vista Acquisition Corp. and returning the investor capital plus interest was in the best interest of our shareholders,” New Vista said. “Partly due to rapid change in capital market conditions, namely the rapid increase in rates, revaluation of growth companies, and the persistently challenging go-public environment, the team decided that it was in the best interests of our shareholders to return their capital.”
Kane said Verijet’s plan “has always been to either go the [private equity] or SPAC route with the New Vista team,” and added that the company has decided to move forward with the private-equity route.