Pine Island Announces $200 Million IPO After The Election, Projects COVID-Related Profits

On November 16, two weeks after Election Day, Pine Island announced an initial public offering of $200 million in its new investment vehicle, called Pine Island Acquisition Corp. In that filing, the company suggests that because of its ties to former government officials, it will have an advantage in investing — and it specifically boasts that its team includes Flournoy.

“Pine Island Capital Partners spends the majority of its time focused in the aerospace, defense and government services sectors, where Pine Island Capital Partners believes it has extensive connections to industry leaders, unusual access to information, and often unique insights into specific companies, programs and overall market dynamics,” the company declares. “The reputations and networks of Pine Island Capital Partners’ team, both individually and collectively, will ensure exposure to a significant number of proprietary opportunities.”

Pine Island also says that it expects to profit off the COVID pandemic in its potential investments in government information technology services.

“We further believe COVID-19 will be a tail wind for the sector,” the company writes. “Critical to any successful government services offering is the skillset, integrity and security clearances of those who execute on its strategy. Our deep bench of connected advisors and former government officials will be the catalyst to recruiting, retaining and developing an elite team of managers and employees, which we believe will enable us to exploit an opportunity in government services.”

The financial relationship between Blinken, Flournoy, Austin, and Pine Island could in theory be detailed as part of the Senate confirmation process. However, government ethics regulations allow that information to be concealed if nominees assert that they signed non-disclosure agreements with counterparties.