(Reuters) - A blank-check firm backed by investment bank Lazard Ltd is aiming to raise $500 million in a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), a regulatory filing showed on Monday. The company, Lazard Growth Acquisition Corp. I, said it would sell 50 million units, made up of shares and warrants, at $10 apiece. The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) saw attractive investment opportunities in the healthcare, technology, energy transition, financial and consumer sectors, it said. (bit.ly/39eNvvp) A SPAC is a shell company that raises money in an IPO to merge with a privately held company that then becomes publicly traded as a result. SPACs have emerged as a popular IPO alternative for companies, providing a path to going public with less regulatory scrutiny and more certainty over the valuation that will be attained and funds that will be raised. Lazard Growth Acquisition expects to list its units on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LGACU”. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as the sole book-running manager for the proposed offering.