California-based Mondee Inc is nearing a deal with a blank-check firm that would value the travel-technology firm at about $1 billion and take it public, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Mondee will merge with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) ITHAX Acquisition Corp, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal could be announced as soon as Monday. The firm would raise a $50 million private investment in public equity with funds affiliated with Morgan Stanley Investment Management and other investors as part of its deal, the report added. Mondee did not immediately respond to request for a comment outside of business hours. Since its founding in 2011, it has acquired multiple platforms in the travel tech space, including Rocketrip and Cosmopolitan Travel Services. Recently, travel-booking services provider American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) also announced its plans to go public via merger with Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (APSG.N) in a deal valued at around $5.3 billion. read more Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sam Holmes Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.