(Reuters) - Two blank-check companies, backed by private equity firm Gores Group LLC, are looking to raise $640 million through initial public offerings (IPO), regulatory filings showed on Tuesday. The special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) - Gores Technology Partners Inc and Gores Technology Partners II Inc - aim to raise $240 million and $400 million, respectively, by selling shares and warrants on the Nasdaq Capital Market. ADVERTISEMENT SPACs are shell companies that raise funds through an IPO to take a private company public via a merger. For the target company, it is an alternative route to enter public markets besides a traditional IPO. Billionaire Alec Gores, the chief executive officer of Gores Group, is one of the most prominent and prolific SPAC dealmakers in the United States, and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars through multiple blank-check firms over the past couple of years. ADVERTISEMENT Some Gores-backed SPACs have already taken companies public. Gores Holding IV Inc took United Wholesale Mortgage public through a merger in January this year. The deal, valued at nearly $16 billion, was the biggest SPAC merger of all time. Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Credit Suisse are the lead underwriters on the offerings. Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.