'SPAC king' Chamath Palihapitiya is planning a $1 billion listing of a climate company, according to reports

• Chamath Palihapitiya is eyeing a $1 billion UK listing for a new company.
• The venture will focus on climate change and won't be a SPAC.
• Palihapitiya plans to make acquisitions and develop his own operations.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya is taking his hunt for businesses to Britain.

Social Capital Hedosophia - the investment firm run by Palihapitiya and his partner Ian Osborne - is eyeing a $1 billion London listing for a company focused on fighting climate change, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Palihapitiya, the CEO of Social Capital and a former Facebook executive, has spearheaded the boom in special-purpose acquisition vehicles (SPACs). He has used them to take Virgin Galactic, Opendoor, and Clover Health public, and has several more deals lined up.

The new UK vehicle won't be structured as a SPAC, but it will seek to make several acquisitions, sources told Bloomberg. It will also work on internal solutions to environmental problems, they said.

Palihapitiya, who will reportedly serve as CEO of the new company, has been shifting his gaze towards environmental investments recently. In January, he invested in commercial EV manufacturer Proterra ahead of its merger with blank-check firm ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.

He also sold his entire personal stake in Virgin Galactic for more than $200 million last week to help finance "a large investment I am making towards fighting climate change," he told Insider in an emailed statement following the sale.