Irish businessman Gary Quin's new Spac enters tie-up with bitcoin treasury firm
A new Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition vehicle (Spac) led by Irish businessman Gary Quin is to merge with a
bitcoin
treasuries company, called ProCap BTC, in a deal that would take the latter public.
Mr Quin had previously set up another Spac – also known as listed cash shells or 'blank cheque' companies – in 2021, but that was subsequently put into liquidation two years later, after it failed to secure a tie-up with an operating company amid volatile equity markets at the time.
The businessman floated his latest Spac, called Columbus Circle Capital Corporation, in May after raising $220 million (€189.6 million) in an initial public offering (IPO).
ProCap BTC is led by US investor and podcast host Anthony Pompliano, ProCap raised more than $750 million in its funding round, including $235 million in convertible debt, with equity making up the rest.
READ MORE
The new firm aims to hold up to $1 billion in bitcoin on its balance sheet and generate revenue, by offering services like lending, trading, and capital markets – all denominated in bitcoin.
Spacs, which became a hot area of Wall Street in 2021 as equity markets were flying high, have re-emerged as a big investment theme this year.
'From day one we sought to partner with a platform and a leader that could develop a transformative organisation – and we found that in ProCap BTC and Anthony Pompliano,' said Gary Quin, CEO of Columbus Circle.
'Anthony's track record as an innovative investor, operator, and early advocate in the bitcoin ecosystem speaks for itself. We believe his deep expertise and relentless conviction will help continue to transform an industry undergoing rapid evolution.'
After the tie-up is completed, the new entity will be called ProCap Financial and be headed by Mr Pompliano.
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Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 30th: On a new approach to house building, beating gridlock and free speech
Sir, – Average car usage in Ireland is about 15,000km per annum, each car using 1,000 litres of petrol, or 9,000 kWh equivalent. Most new houses, being remote from public transport, are occupied by families with two cars, meaning 18,000 kilowatt hours are expended on their travel needs, or about four times the energy consumption of a 100sq m house. Achieving high thermal performance standards for houses comes at a significant cost, but any economies in terms of energy usage are utterly outweighed by the concomitant reliance on private car transport. In this regard, it would be just to re-evaluate dwellings and include the average necessary transport energy associated with each dwelling before awarding a rating. 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Irish Times
5 hours ago
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SuperValu expands into pet cover in bid to be ‘one-stop shop' for insurance
SuperValu Insurance is expanding into the pet market in an attempt to become a 'one-stop shop' for customers' cover as part of a strategic expansion of its insurance division. 'There are about 500,000 pet insurance policies in the country,' said Garry O'Sullivan, head of SuperValu Insurance , 'but that only covers about 30 per cent of the number of pets that are owned in Ireland'. He noted a '70 per cent gap in pet owners that don't have insurance ' with the numbers taking out policies having grown following the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the small number of pet insurance providers in the sector allows SuperValu to 'give an extra choice to consumers'. SuperValu Insurance has partnered with global insurer Cover-More, with whom, Mr O'Sullivan said, they have 'tried to negotiate the best deals we can', which has allowed them to 'bring a best product to market'. READ MORE The company is expecting the launch of pet insurance to increase its overall insurance policies by about 1,000 in its first year, adding to an existing customer base of about 60,000 following 'incremental growth year on year'. The retailer's pet insurance offering will include lifetime cover for pets and vet fee cover for pets of up to €6,000, which SuperValu said is the 'highest level of veterinary cover currently available in the Irish market'. [ Pet insurance: Why owners must pay a price for peace of mind Opens in new window ] Mr O'Sullivan said bills for family pets 'can run up quite sizeably year on year' in cases where ongoing medical care is required. 'We cover all of that, so our product is well positioned to serve our customer,' he said. SuperValu launched its first insurance policies, travel cover, in October 2014 before later expanding into car and home insurance in May 2015. SuperValu made life and mortgage protection cover available last year and also offers a specialist learner driver insurance package. 'We want to be the one-stop shop for customers' insurance,' said Mr O'Sullivan. [ Pet insurance could save you a fortune, so know your options to care for your furry friend Opens in new window ] He said SuperValu 'will always look at opportunities to expand' into new insurance sectors based on interest from the customer base. He did not comment on what specific sectors it is considering but said the company will be 'exploring other avenues in 2026 and 2027″. As with all SuperValu insurance coverage, customers will be given a €40 shopping voucher when a new policy is purchased, which Mr O'Sullivan said is a reward for customer's loyalty to the brand. The cover will go beyond injury or illness and also provide access to a lost-and-found pet reward service. Cover-More Europe's chief product officer, Jason Whelan, said the underwriter is 'excited to work with SuperValu Insurance to ensure their customers have access to lifetime cover for their cherished pets'.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on trade and tax: the rules-based system is breaking down
As a small country, Ireland is best served by a stable international economic backdrop and a rules-based system governing areas such as trade and taxation. Unfortunately, the key institutions overseeing the international economic system are now under heavy pressure, as Donald Trump pursues his nationalistic economic agenda. The most recent demonstration of this came in recent days as the other G7 countries acceded to a US demand to rewrite a part of the global corporate tax deal that took years to put together under the aegis of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). The entire deal is now weakened and may even crumble completely. The issue for the US was a part of the agreement which would have allowed other countries, including Ireland, to collect top-up tax from American multinationals who were judged not to have paid the minimum rate of 15 per cent elsewhere. Washington saw this as an infringement of US tax sovereignty. The same issue lies behind new trade tensions between the US and Canada, What is notable is that the G7 countries agreed to unpick the agreement to meet the US demands, as was announced on social media by US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. The other 140 plus countries who negotiated and signed the agreement are yet to be consulted. The big players are calling the shots. READ MORE In return, the US administration is asking Congress to withdraw a part of the new budget bill which would have given the US the power to levy punitive taxes on investors and companies from countries who were judged to be treating US firms unfairly. As in the field of trade, US threats are being met by significant concessions. The OECD's status as a mediator of the corporate tax deal has been undermined and the future of the whole agreement is now in serious doubt. In the same way, the World Trade Organisation looks on powerlessly as the rules of international trade are torn up. In this context, the suggestion last week from Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, that the EU investigates a new regime with a group of Asian countries who are part of a trade bloc – which the UK has also joined – was ill-judged to say the least. This new dominance by the big players and the tearing up of existing rules is worrying for Ireland. The previous government had hoped that by signing up to the OECD tax deal the controversy over the Irish system would be put to bed and there would be no further demands for change. Now this is all back in the melting pot. Meanwhile, Ireland has thrived under the rules-based trade system which brings certainty to those exporting from this country, whether multinationals or domestic businesses. Ireland needs to stick close to the EU to make it case and hope that Europe can find its voice on these issues more effectively than it has to date.
