Hotel101 to list on Nasdaq through SPAC merger deal

HOTEL 101 Global Pte. Ltd. (Hotel101), a unit of Philippine-listed property developer DoubleDragon Corp., is nearing its planned listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange with a valuation of over $2.3 billion (P130 billion) following a merger deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the United States.

Hotel101, a hotel property technology operator, and JVSPAC Acquisition Corp. have entered into a “binding definitive merger agreement,” DoubleDragon said in an e-mailed statement on Monday.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

“Upon completion of the business combination transaction, the combined entity is expected to be publicly listed on the US NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ‘HBNB,’ ” DoubleDragon said.

Sought for comment, Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia, research head at AP Securities, Inc., said in a Viber message that the P130-billion market valuation of HBNB will exceed the value of its parent company, DoubleDragon, by more than six times. DoubleDragon currently has a market capitalization of P19.67 billion.

“With an expanded capital base and access to the thriving US equities market, this listing of Hotel101 on Nasdaq could help accelerate its plans to expand to 25 countries by 2026,” he said.

COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Equity Strategist April Lynn C. Lee-Tan said Hotel101’s upcoming listing could spur other Philippine companies to consider listing in the US.

“If it is easy for them to raise capital in the US, then I don’t see why not. The problem in the Philippines is that valuations are so low. The question is, if they list in the US, will they get better valuations? Will there be buyers?,” she said.

“If a business will only focus on the Philippine market, it might not be as attractive to global investors,” she added.

 Hotel101 is aiming to have one million rooms across more than 100 countries.

 It seeks to have presence in 25 countries by 2026. These include Philippines, Japan, Spain, United States, United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, and Saudi Arabia.

 Hotel101 recently began development on a 680-room hotel in Madrid, Spain. It is also constructing a 482-room hotel in Hokkaido, Japan.

The company also previously secured a 3,647-square meter commercial lot in Los Angeles, California, for its first hotel in the US.

 On Thursday, DoubleDragon shares rose by 13.53% or P1 to P8.39 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave