Silicon Valley Veteran Michael Moe Plans Education-Tech SPAC

(Bloomberg) -- Silicon Valley veteran Michael Moe is in talks to raise capital through a blank-check firm to pursue a deal in education technology, an industry buoyed by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Moe is set to be chief executive of a new entity, tentatively dubbed Class Acquisition Corp., said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Confidential paperwork has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of an initial public offering for the special purpose acquisition company, which aims to raise $200 million to $250 million, some of the people said.

Joe Parsons and Bob Daugherty are slated to be the SPAC’s co-chairmen. Daugherty is executive dean of the Forbes School of Business & Technology at the University of Arizona Global Campus, and Parsons previously served on the management committee of Bridgewater Associates. Both men also are alumni of GE Capital.

Moe declined to comment. Parsons and Daugherty didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.

GSV Ventures

Moe, who rose to prominence as an equity research analyst, was chairman and chief executive officer of boutique investment bank ThinkEquity before founding Global Silicon Valley, which invests in the education-technology sector through its GSV Ventures arm. He has backed online course providers Coursera and Course Hero, app-maker Class Dojo and digital-credential service Parchment, as well as larger players like Chegg Inc., Pluralsight Inc. and 2U Inc.

U.S. SPACs have raised more than $64 billion this year, a record sum that’s approaching the $72 billion raised in all prior years combined, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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