Colin Kaepernick Forms Company to Invest in Social Purpose
February 12, 2021
According to reports, prominent civil rights activist, Colin Kaepernick, is the latest athlete to form a special purpose-acquisition company (SPAC). The initial public offering seeks to raise $250 million to acquire a company at "the intersection of consumer and impact." Mission Advancement Corp. will focus on racial justice and diversity issues and aims to have an enterprise value of around $1 billion in order to advance social justice issues.
Since 2016, when the quarterback started taking a knee to protest police brutality and systemic racism in the US, he has remained steadfast in his advocacy for social change - from his Know Your Rights camp to his philanthropic efforts.
Co-founded by private-equity investor and Najafi Cos CEO, Jahm Najafi, the SPAC's official filing states: "The mission of the Najafi/Kaepernick partnership is to identify, acquire and advance a company with the aim of creating meaningful financial and societal value."
“We believe Mr. Kaepernick’s substantial business experience combined with his long-term leadership on racial equity and justice issues will support our success in identifying a prospective target company and adding transformational value to the combined entity.
Underscoring its mission, the company’s independent board of directors is 100% Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and is majority female. Directors include Google marketing executive Attica Jaques, award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay, former Apple executive Omar Johnson and Birchbox co-founder and CEO Katia Beauchamp.
SPACs started gaining in popularity last year with well-known names like former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, former House speaker Paul Ryan and baseball executive Billy Beane backing blank-check companies. SPACs are essentially empty-shell companies that look for a company to acquire and take public, existing solely to raise money by listing on the stock exchange. So far this year, there have been 131 SPACs that have raised a collective $39.9 billion, according to SPAC Research.
According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, the filing indicates that they are searching for a business that reflects three themes:
I. Consumers are investing in brands that reflect their social values and recognize that purchasing decisions can act as instruments of change.
II. Companies are becoming more mission-driven and seeking to align with culturally relevant social causes.
III. Brands are evolving into media platforms, enabling authentic cultural and celebrity influencers to help drive awareness, marketing exposure and value.
The filing goes on to indicate what Kaepernick and Najafi hope to launch as a company, stating, “In addition, our team has indicated an intent to launch an initiative in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination to provide opportunities for college students from underrepresented communities to gain access to fellowships and full-time opportunities in business and finance.”