Plano-based blank check company filed for $ 200 million initial stock offering, hoping to target direct selling companies to go public.

Direct Selling Acquisition plans to seek out companies valued between $ 500 million and $ 2 billion. Special Acquisition Companies, known as PSPC, are looking for fast growing companies with which to merge and go public. PSPC investors buy shares of the new company and later decide to keep the shares or get their original investment back with interest.

Last year was a banner year for PSPC, with 248 transactions totaling $ 83 billion, according to tracking site SPAC Insider. This year, that number has already risen to 413 transactions, or $ 121.8 billion.

The direct-selling acquisition is led by CEO Dave Wentz, former CEO of Utah-based USANA Health Sciences, a multi-tiered health products company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. USANA sells nutritional supplements, probiotics, bars and meals, and powdered energy drinks.

Mike Lohner will serve as CFO, using his experience as co-founder and chief strategy officer of the Austin-based DOSH card-related offerings platform, which was sold in March for $ 275 million. .

The direct sale acquisition could not be reached for comment. The company, founded in 2021, plans to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DSAQ.U.

Multi-level marketing is big business in Texas, which has more direct selling activity than any other state, according to the Direct Selling Association. It’s estimated to be a $ 5 billion per year industry with more than 2 million active sellers in the state, according to the association.

Meanwhile, an Irving-based tech company goes live on the Nasdaq on Tuesday after partnering with a PSPC. But the CEO is not watering down PSPC’s IPO process which has grown in popularity during the pandemic.

“It was tough,” said Manuel Senderos, CEO of AgileThought. “None of these processes are easy. But going public through a SPAC is not a straightforward and easy process. “

AgileThought, a company that helps businesses go digital, is backed by blank check company LIV Capital Acquisition Corp., headquartered in Mexico. It will be traded under the AGIL ticker.

Senderos said his best advice for other companies looking to go the PSPC route is to focus on the private investment cycle known as PIPE rather than public fundraising.

“Don’t rely on this money because it’s uncertain,” he said. “You don’t know until the last minute how much you’re going to get.”

AgileThought plans to use the additional funds to grow its business, with a goal of hiring 50 new employees per week in Texas, Florida and Latin America. This has been difficult because the high-end developer market in the United States is tight, Senderos said.