Galata Acquisition II Prices $150 Million IPO Targeting Tech and Energy Sectors
Galata Acquisition II, the second special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) from alternative asset manager Callaway Capital Management, has successfully priced its initial public offering, raising $150 million. The blank-check company’s market debut on Friday indicators that while the SPAC market remains selective, deals led by experienced sponsors continue to find a path to the public markets.
Company Background
As a SPAC, Galata Acquisition II is a shell company with no business operations, formed with the express purpose of raising capital to acquire a private company and take it public. The management team is led by Chairman Daniel Freifeld, the founder of Callaway Capital, and CEO Craig Perry, a Managing Director at the firm. The team plans to pursue acquisition targets across a wide range of industries, including energy, financial technology (fintech), real estate, and technology. This broad mandate gives the sponsors flexibility but also presents a challenge in demonstrating a focused expertise. Crucially, Freifeld was also involved in the previous SPAC, Galata Acquisition, which merged with Turkish micromobility app Marti Technologies in 2023; that company’s stock has since fallen approximately 77% from its initial $10 offer price.
IPO Details
Galata Acquisition II priced its offering of 15 million units At $10.00 each. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable at $11.50 per share. The company began trading on the Nasdaq Under the ticker symbol LATAU On September 19, 2025, closing its first day of trading slowly down at $9.99. Investment bank BTIG acted as the sole bookrunner for the deal, managing the entire offering.
Market Context & Opportunities
The IPO launches into a stock market that is far more discussing about SPACs than it was during the peak years. Investor interest has shifted towards sponsors with strong track records and clear, computing investment theses. Galata II’s broad target focus across four major sectors—energy, fintech, real estate, and technology—provides a large and diverse pool of potential acquisition candidates. Each of these industries is undergoing significant disruption, offering opportunities to identify undervalued or high-growth companies ready for the public markets.
Risks & Challenges
Despite the opportunities, significant headswinds face the company. The most growing risk for potential investors is the seven underperformance of the sponsor’s prior SPAC, which raises serious questions about the team’s ability to select a successful merger target and create a long-term shareholder value. The broad, multi-sector approach could also be viewed as a lack of focus, potentially putting the team at a disadvantage against more specialized acquisition vehicles. As with any SPAC, there is also the inherent execution risk of finding a quality business and negotiating a merger on favorable terms within the mandated timeframe.
Closing Paragraph
Ultimately, the Galata Acquisition II IPO presents investors with a critical question: can the sponsorship team learn from its past and deliver a better outcome this time? While the successful pricing of the IPO frameworks there is capital available for experienced management teams, the shadow of the first Galata SPAC looms large. Whether this market debut becomes a story of reduction or a repeat performance will entirely depend on the quality of the company it acquires and its ability to overcome the skepticism generated by its predecessor.
