What Is Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U)?

The weather has been quite bad, giving me plenty of time to browse Stockopedia and check on my precious stocks. The TSX performed well today, closing the session strong at 25,648.84 points. We gained 165.61 points today, up 0.65%.

My non-registered portfolio closed at $149,210.31, my US portfolio at $6,052.70 USD, my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $86,787.96, and my TFSA portfolio at $138,704.99.

In my RRSP portfolio, JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN) is one investment I've been holding for quite some time—several years, in fact. Unfortunately, my position in JFS.UN is currently down 4.65%. No major loss, but I got curious because JFS.UN is usually in the green, even if only slightly. So, I checked the major holdings of JFS.UN on its website under the "Portfolio" section:

https://funds.cifinancial.com/en/funds/alternative_investments/JFTStrategiesFund.html

I found the usual holdings, but I also noticed a newcomer: Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U). It turns out that JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN) has a 4.63% asset allocation in SPAC.U. I found this quite strange.

Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U) has been trading on the TSX since September 2024. Upon its release, shares were priced at $10 each. Currently, SPAC.U is trading at $9.95. The only positive aspect is that its price has remained stable despite the current market uncertainties.

I just don’t understand why JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN) is invested in Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U). I don’t find SPAC.U appealing at all. Try searching for information on Mercer Park Opportunities—you'll only find a few things, none of which are particularly interesting. I always like to check the main holdings of JFS.UN and sometimes invest in them directly, as I did with Alaris Equity Partners Income Trust (AD.UN) and Ag Growth International Inc. (AFN). But when it comes to Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U), trust me, I won’t be investing in that one.

For some reason, Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U) is involved in the cannabis industry. For a second, it made me think of Trailer Park Boys, lol. It’s quite unclear what this company actually does. Mercer Park Opportunities is described as an acquisition corporation. And guess what? The company is registered in the Cayman Islands, at this exact address:

CO Services Cayman Limited, P.O. Box 10008, Willow House Cricket Square, Grand Cayman KY1-1001, Cayman Islands.

If you enter that address into Google, you’ll land directly on the website of Carey Olsen, a law firm that describes itself as a "leading offshore law firm advising financial institutions, corporations, and private clients on Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, and Jersey law from a network of nine international offices."

https://www.careyolsen.com/professional-services/cayman-islands-corporate-services

But it doesn’t stop there. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) links this exact address to the Paradise Papers:

https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/58068212

However, there's this disclaimer on the same site:

"There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. The inclusion of a person or entity in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database is not intended to suggest or imply that they have engaged in illegal or improper conduct. Many people and entities have the same or similar names. We suggest you confirm the identities of any individuals or entities included in the database based on addresses or other identifiable information. The data comes directly from the leaked files ICIJ has received in connection with various investigations, and each dataset encompasses a defined time period specified in the database. Some information may have changed over time."

I’d love for someone to explain to me what these actual legitimate uses for offshore companies are! Anyway, I find it all quite interesting.

P1 Ventures, a company that appears to be based in San Francisco and claims, "We partner. From 0 to 1. With incredible African tech founders," shares the exact same Cayman Islands address as Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. Mkango Resources Ltd., a Vancouver-based company, also shares this address:

https://mkango.ca/news/holding-s-in-company-4/

Many other companies pop up on Google when you copy and paste this exact address: CO Services Cayman Limited, P.O. Box 10008, Willow House Cricket Square, Grand Cayman KY1-1001, Cayman Islands. It makes for quite an interesting read.

That being said, I still don’t understand why JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN) is invested in Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (SPAC.U). And even without knowing the reasons behind this investment, I sincerely don’t like it.

Is this the kind of thing that truly matters to me and could make me sell my shares of JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN)? I haven’t figured that part out yet.