Exclusive: Omeed Malik's second SPAC upsized again

Details: Colombier Acquisition Corp. II originally filed to raise $130 million, and then last week upsized the offering to $150 million. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Catch up quick: Malik's first blank-check effort merged with PublicSq, an online marketplace for "patriot economy" companies.

• Its shares spiked to $29.80 upon the merger announcement but closed trading on Friday at $5.73 a piece.
• PublicSq CEO Michael Seifert sits on the board of Colombier Acquisition Corp. II.
• Malik also runs a private investment fund called 1789 Capital, which recently backed Tucker Carlson's new media company.

The big picture: Conservatives have begun to build companies that challenge what they view as an increasingly liberal internet, retail economy and media ecosystem.

• Examples include Black Rifle Coffee, a veteran-founded response to Starbucks; Rumble, an alternative to YouTube; RightForge, a conservative internet hosting company, and Strive, the anti-ESG asset management firm founded by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (for whom Malik has reportedly held a fundraiser).