Leaders at the Bell with Joseph Hernandez, CEO at SPAC Blue Waters, Sep 17, 2025

Joseph Hernandez, CEO of SPAC Blue Waters and a candidate for New York City mayor, joins FEMACRO from the NYSE floor during Hispanic Heritage Month to discuss his company's ambitious $10 billion bid for CITGO's refining and retail assets. The Venezuelan-owned petroleum company, which operates three refineries and approximately 4,000 gas stations primarily in the Big West region, is generating annual revenues approaching $40 to $45 billion. Hernandez outlines Blue Waters' competitive position against Elliott Management, arguing that based on comparable valuations of companies like Valero, CITGO could be worth between $15 and $20 billion. His proposal offers creditors and bondholders the flexibility to choose between cash or equity in what would become a publicly traded American company, positioning the deal as beneficial for all stakeholders while restoring CITGO to American ownership.

Hernandez explains the SPAC mechanism as a reverse merger vehicle that allows private companies or assets to go public through combination with a blank-check company holding cash reserves. He discusses the flexibility of raising additional capital through PIPE transactions to complete the acquisition. Beyond business, Hernandez shares his personal journey as a Cuban immigrant who arrived in the United States at age seven with parents who worked as dishwashers and house cleaners. He frames his mayoral candidacy as repaying a debt to the country that provided opportunity, emphasizing his determination to prevent socialist and communist ideologies from taking hold in New York City, which he calls the capital of capitalism and a beacon of opportunity for Latino communities.