DoubleDragon: Philippines' first Nasdaq listed company

Injap Sia's Hotel101 Will Be First Philippine Company on US Nasdaq After $2.3 Billion Merger Deal

Story by Christa I. De La Cruz 
Esquire Philippines
11 April 2024

Hotel101, the business and leisure hotel chain with its flagship property in Pasay, is all set to go public on the Nasdaq in New York City. This comes after the announcement of Philippine-listed real estate development company DoubleDragon Corporation that its Singapore-headquartered subsidiary Hotel101 Global Pte. Ltd. and JVSPAC Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: JVSA) have entered into a binding definitive merger agreement.

Once completed, Hotel101—with ticker symbol HBNB—will have an equity value of $2.3 billion (P130 Billion). The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Albert Wong, Chairman of JVSPAC, with DoubleDragon/Hotel101 Chairman Edgar Injap Sia II, CEO Hannah Yulo Luccini, and Co-Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong

DoubleDragon Group is led by Edgar "Injap" Sia II (founder of Mang Inasal) and Tony Tan Caktiong (founder of Jollibee). Tan Caktiong was recently listed in the Forbes' billionaire list with a net worth of $1.4 billion. With the listing made via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Double Dragon positions Hotel101 Global as the first Filipino company in the US Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Outside the Philippines, Hotel101 properties are currently under construction in Madrid, Spain; Hokkaido, Japan; and Los Angeles, California. The company said in a statement that it had identified 25 priority countries for expansion: the Philippines, Japan, Spain, the U.S., United Kingdom, the U.A.E., India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, and Saudi Arabia.

JVSPAC Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company incorporated for the purpose of executing a business merger. It is led by Chairman and CEO Albert Wong, who is also the CEO and Director of Kingsway Group Holding. Kingsway is in the automotive industry, particularly the sole distributor of Lamborghini in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou; as well as Koenigsegg Automotive, Rimac Automobili, and Bugatti Automobiles for China.