A Palm Desert acquisition startup whose directors include a former Notre Dame football coach and a U.S. vice president seeks to raise $400 million on Wall Street.

Richard J. Heckmann, a well-known Coachella Valley acquisition guru, formed Heckmann Corp. in May, bringing along three well-connected colleagues to serve as board directors. The ensemble consists of Dan Quayle, vice president to George H.W. Bush and chairman of Cerberus Global Investments; Lou L. Holtz, ESPN commentator and former national championship coach at the University of Notre Dame; and Alfred E. Osborne Jr., senior associate dean at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Heckmann Corp., a so-called "blank check" company, issued shares Nov. 12 offering 50 million units at $8 a unit. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one warrant.

The company opened on the American Stock Exchange Nov. 13 under the symbol HEK.U. The offering closed Nov. 16.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Roth Capital Partners LLC and middle market investment bank Morgan Joseph & Co. Inc. were underwriters for the offering.

Quayle, Holtz and Osborne served on the boards of sporting goods manufacturer K2 Inc., which Heckmann most recently led as chief executive and chairman, and at USFilter, a company Heckmann founded in 1990.

Heckman Corp. gives itself two years to consummate an acquisition or merger or spin-out a business from a larger firm, or complete some other business combination. If such a deal is not reached within 24 months, the corporation will cease to exist and public investors will get a refund.

Heckmann, his firm Heckmann Acquisition LLC and the three directors will be the only entities to lose money if the two-year gamble doesn't work out, Heckmann said. He serves as Heckmann Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer.

Heckmann Acquisition LLC and the directors in a private placement sunk a total $7 million into the trust account set up for the public stock sale proceeds and planned to use interest income to cover company operations.

The company will distribute the $7 million plus money raised from the offering to public stockholders if it does not meet its goals.

Heckmann Acquisition LLC will own 19.4% of issued and outstanding common stock and 24.7% of warrants, the company prospectus said. The company will pay Heckmann $10,000 a month for administrative services, office space, utilities and secretarial support.

Heckmann declined Nov. 15 to discuss possible acquisitions by Heckmann Corp. or where they might occur.

The company's business targets are not restricted by industry or geography. No acquisitions or other transactions were in play or under consideration at the time of the public offering, the prospectus said.

Following the offering's closure, it will take a miniumum of 60 days to identify a good business target, Heckmann said.

Heckmann is little concerned about meeting the 24-month deadline. USFilter consummated more than 150 acquisitions worth up to $1.7 billion in value during Heckmann's tenure, and K2 Inc. concluded more than 20 acquisitions.

"I've made over 300 acquisitions ... so I'm pretty familiar with how to do it," Heckmann said. "I've had the good fortune of dealing with every major investment banking firm on the Street Wall Street. Everyone knows I'm aggressive."

Heckmann Corp. may hire a consultant to help line up business deals, although the firm will not need such assistance given his financial contacts, Heckmann said. "All the banks will come to me with potential deals."

Vivendi S.A. of Paris acquired USFilter in 1999 for $8.2 billion.

In August, consumer products firm Jarden Corp. in Rye, N.Y., announced its finalized acquisition of K2 for $1.2 billion. Heckmann said in a Jarden release he planned to join Jarden’s board of directors. Heckmann’s multi-industry career includes serving as a founding shareholder of Callaway Golf, a director of consulting firm MPS Group Inc. and as an owner of the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns.

Market volatility and a slow economy means other companies struggle with debt, creating acquisition opportunities. “It’s not a good time for an IPO,” if you’re bringing a company public, but it’s a great time to do a spec. At a time when debt is very difficult to come by and you have a market in turmoil, that’s when you want to be sitting on $400 million in cash.”

“I’m the answer to companies that have too much [debt] because we have the leverage,” Heckmann said.