USHG Acquisition Corp. (HUGS), a blank-check company with Shake Shack creator Danny Meyer at the helm, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday in a deal valued at $250 million.
Perhaps surprisingly — given Meyer's pedigree as the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group that operates more than 20 restaurants and bars — the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is looking beyond the restaurant industry for possible mergers.
"It would be intuitive for people to say, 'Oh, obviously Danny Meyer and his group are going to be focusing on bringing public a restaurant company,'" Meyer told Cheddar. "It's likely that that's not going to be the case."
Instead, the SPAC is seeking out companies with what Meyer called a "stakeholder approach" to doing business.
"We believe that the most compelling differentiator for long-term business success is when a company believes that the first input has to be the people working there, and the second input has to be the people who do business with them, the customers, and then the community in which they do business," he said.
Outside of this criteria, the SPAC is casting a wide net, with technology, e-commerce, food and beverage, and health and wellness companies all on the table.
A component of USHG's culture-driven acquisition strategy is a charitable partnership with Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit seeking to end childhood hunger, of which Meyer sits on the board.
As part of the public offering, Meyer said USHG will "gift a meaningful number of shares" to the nonprofit that will provide a long-term funding source for its programming.
"The resources that are generated from this are so important because at the end of the day charity is so important, but it's not enough. We've got to find ways to create new wealth," said Share Our Strength CEO Billy Shore.
Shore added that he would like to see more companies go public with a charitable partner.
"It can't be just the nonprofit sector. It can't be just the government sector. It's got to be the business sector as well. When all three come together, we can actually solve this problem."
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A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
