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Roman DBDR Acquisition Corp. II
Roman DBDR Acquisition Corp. II is a $250M blank-check company co-chaired by Don Drapkin and Basil Hani, formed in 2021 to acquire a private operating...
Roman DBDR Acquisition Corp. II
Roman DBDR Acquisition Corp. II was formed in 2021 and priced its $250 million initial public offering in February of that year, listing on the Nasdaq under the symbol DRDBU. Don Drapkin, the former vice chairman of MacAndrews & Forbes and a longtime associate of Ronald Perelman, co-chairs the vehicle alongside Basil Hani, who previously co-founded and led a series of SPACs and direct-investment platforms. The firm operates as a special purpose acquisition company — a shell corporation that raises capital through an IPO with the express purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing private operating business. As of mid-2026, the vehicle remains in its target-search phase. The SPAC's stated mandate is to pursue a business combination with a company in the financial services, technology, or healthcare sectors, though the prospectus grants latitude to consider targets across other industries. The operating playbook is consistent with the sponsors' prior blank-check vehicles: identify a middle-market or growth-stage private company, negotiate a merger agreement, and shepherd the transaction through a shareholder vote. The trust account holds the IPO proceeds in U.S. government securities until a deal is consummated or the clock runs out. No definitive merger agreement has been announced as of this record. Team size is compact — typical for a SPAC sponsor — with Drapkin and Hani forming the nucleus of investment-decision authority. Both sponsors have track records in structured acquisitions: Drapkin's tenure at MacAndrews & Forbes spanned leveraged buyouts, minority investments, and public-market maneuvers across two decades; Hani's prior SPAC, Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp., completed a de-SPAC merger with a technology company in 2022. The firm maintains its business address in New York, New York, per SEC filings. No separate asset-management entity or follow-on fund vehicle is disclosed. Structurally, Roman DBDR II distinguishes itself from conventional private equity funds by its public-company wrapper and defined sunset provision. The two-year deadline — extendable under certain conditions — imposes a discipline absent from perpetual-capital vehicles. For institutional allocators, the SPAC's risk profile is binary: capital preservation through trust-account investments during the search phase, followed by a single concentrated bet on an acquired operating company. This contrasts with a typical blind-pool fund's diversified commitment strategy.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2021
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Donald G. Drapkin
Co-Chairman
Basil J. Hani
Co-Chairman
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Roman DBDR Acquisition Corp. II?
The SPAC is led by Co-Chairmen Donald G. Drapkin and Basil J. Hani, who together exercise authority over target selection and merger negotiations (per the firm's SEC filings). Drapkin previously served as vice chairman of MacAndrews & Forbes, Ronald Perelman's holding company, where he participated in acquisitions across multiple industries. Hani co-founded and led a predecessor SPAC, Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp., which completed its business combination in 2022.
What is Roman DBDR Acquisition Corp. II's investment mandate?
The prospectus identifies financial services, technology, and healthcare as primary sectors of interest, though the sponsors retain discretion to pursue targets outside those categories. The vehicle is structured as a special purpose acquisition company with roughly $250 million in trust, which becomes the target company's post-merger capital base. No minimum enterprise value or specific geography is mandated, though the sponsors' prior activity has centered on North American targets.
Has Roman DBDR II announced a merger target?
No definitive merger agreement has been announced as of mid-2026. The SPAC priced its IPO in February 2021 and faces a contractual deadline to complete a business combination or return the trust proceeds to shareholders. SPACs of this vintage have increasingly sought extensions or faced redemptions as the de-SPAC market tightened after 2022.
What happens to investor capital if no merger is completed?
Per the standard SPAC trust structure, the IPO proceeds are held in a trust account invested in short-term U.S. government securities. If the sponsors fail to complete a business combination within the prescribed timeframe — typically 18 to 24 months with possible extensions — the trust is liquidated and returned to public shareholders on a pro-rata basis. The sponsors' founder shares and warrants expire worthless in that scenario.
How is Roman DBDR II related to the sponsors' other vehicles?
The SPAC is the second blank-check vehicle from the same sponsor group. Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp., the predecessor, completed a merger with a private technology company in 2022 (per the firm's SEC filings). Basil Hani served in a leadership role on both entities, establishing a serial-SPAC track record. There is no disclosed multi-vehicle management company or permanent-capital fund alongside the SPACs.
What is the sponsor economics structure?
In line with conventional SPAC structures, the sponsors hold founder shares acquired for a nominal amount prior to the IPO, representing approximately 20% of the post-IPO equity. These shares only convert to meaningful value upon a successful business combination. The sponsors also hold private placement warrants purchased in conjunction with the IPO, creating additional alignment alongside public shareholders.
What is Don Drapkin's investment background?
Don Drapkin served as vice chairman of MacAndrews & Forbes, the private holding company of financier Ronald Perelman, for over a decade until his departure in 2007 (per public record). During his tenure, MacAndrews & Forbes executed leveraged buyouts of companies including Revlon, Coleman, and Marvel Entertainment. Drapkin's experience spans control acquisitions, minority investments, and distressed-credit restructurings.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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