Former FMG boss Nev Power thought to be behind mining SPAC

Former Fortescue boss and current head of the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, Nev Power. Picture: Getty Images

Former Fortescue boss Nev Power could be looking to the US for the next leg of his life after iron ore, with the federal government’s COVID commissioner said to be putting together investors to launch a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the US.

Mr Power, who is also the chairman of Perth Airport and a non-executive director of Strike Energy, is said to be trying to put together an investor group, including high net worth backers — to raise $US200m to $US300m for the SPAC, with the aim of using the cash to fund the acquisition of a copper play.

SPACs have become the biggest buzzword on Wall Street over the last year, with the entities — cash box companies that list on a stock exchange as a blank slate, with a mandate to acquire a business down the track — raising $US78bn in 2020 and another $US90bn in the first three months of 2021, according to PwC research.

They’ve caused some alarm in the US after celebrities such as former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, rapper Jay-Z and tennis player Serena Williams promoted SPACs, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission issuing a warning to retail punters over the risks, and then flagging changes to securities laws that could damage the tax treatment of the blank cheque entities.

Mr Power is altogether a far more sober character than the parade of celebrities promoting SPACs, and his seven-year stint with Fortescue helped him build solid relationships in the US debt and capital markets.

Gossip along Perth’s St Georges Terrace suggests a reunion of sorts with the family office of another former Fortescue executive, Peter Meurs — the Asia Pacific president of the Mormon Church — might also be in the offing via the investment vehicle.

Curiously enough, Mr Power registered a new shell company last month, Marcotte Capital, of which he is the sole director.

While mining-focused SPACs are less common than tech plays, Mr Power would hardly be the first resources heavyweight to tread the path.

Industry veteran Robert Friedland launched Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp onto the market this year, chasing battery metals targets, and former Xstrata boss Mick Davis’ battery minerals investment firm Vision Blue Resources is behind a $US300m SPAC, ESM Acquisition Corp, with private equity mining investor The Energy and Minerals Group.