The Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) and Chimera Investment, an Abu Dhabi-based private investment firm, announced the MENA region’s first successfully listed SPAC.

The co-established SPAC, ADC Acquisition Corporation, started trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Friday.

The SPAC was announced back in April, and a statement at the time noted that it was looking to merge with “fast-growing, technology-driven businesses with strong management teams and attractive valuations” across the MENA region.

“The successful listing of ADC on ADX is firmly in line with the UAE’s vision and strategy to develop new asset classes for investors and reaffirms our commitment to playing a leading role in the development of the country’s capital markets,” said Syed Basar Shueb, Chairman of Chimera Investment and Vice Chairman of ADC.

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“Through ADC, we will be able to channel liquidity to regional businesses, provide swift and cheaper access to capital markets, and offer investors the ability to tap into this new and highly dynamic space in the UAE while enjoying greater transparency and world-class operational and market expertise,” he added.

Trading kicked off after the end of ADC’s public subscription to retail and professional investors, and has raised a total of AED 367 million through an initial public offering (IPO) of 36.7 million shares at an offer price of AED 10 per share.

SPACs continue to grow into a somewhat popular alternative for IPO-bound companies to go public, with the first MENA companies to list on the New York NASDAQ, Lebanese music streaming service Anghami and Egyptian mass-transit application SWVL, merging with SPACs to go public.