Isle acquisition firm raises $345M in IPO

Trinity Merger Corp., a Hono­lulu-based special-purpose acquisition firm, said it raised $345 million through an initial public offering that closed Thursday.

The company sold 34.5 million units at $10 per unit in the IPO, including the full 4.5 million-unit allotment that was available for purchase by the IPO’s underwriter, B. Riley FBR Inc. The units began trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday under the ticker symbol TMCXU. Trinity intends to focus on business combination candidates with a real estate component and an enterprise value of approximately $750 million to $2 billion.

Trinity is headed by Chairman Lee Neibart and President and CEO Sean Hehir. The two have worked together for more than 20 years, partnering on several large institutional real estate transactions. In addition to Neibart and Hehir, the board of directors includes American Savings Bank President and CEO Rich Wacker; Catherine Luke, president and director of Loyalty Enterprises Ltd.; and Warren de Haan, co-founder and managing partner at ACORE Capital LP.

Each unit consists of one share of the Company’s Class A common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols TMCX and TMCXW, respectively.

Trinity’s shares rose a penny Tuesday and increased by 3 cents Wednesday before giving back a penny Thursday and closing at $10.03 as 507,688 shares exchanged hands.