SPACs

Capital Calls: SPACs’ long shadows

12 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: While electric-vehicle startup Nikola is moving beyond its founder, both it and its SPAC-partner peers are mired in supply chain challenges, slipping deadlines and tumbling share price performance.

Trump SPAC vote is common problem writ bigly

6 Sep 2022

Retail shareholders rarely cast ballots, even when it’s in their interest. Take the merger of Donald Trump’s media firm with a listed shell company: Investors are opting, by inaction, to swap stock trading at $25 for $10 in cash. The effects of inertia reach beyond Mar-a-Lago.

China Inc offers 360 view of SPAC last hurrah

14 Jul 2022

Carmaker Chijet is merging with a blank-cheque vehicle that planned to scout for healthcare firms. Video streamer Glory Star, bought by a SPAC in 2020, is accepting a net buyout price barely equal to last year’s earnings. They are fitting examples of a distorted and dying market.

Ackman exits SPAC wreckage with only minor bruises

12 Jul 2022

The hedgie is closing his $4 bln blank-cheque vehicle without doing a deal. Its pitfalls were complexity and size, but the terms were relatively investor-friendly and he didn’t try to push through a bad last-ditch transaction. Others who jumped on the trend were less responsible.

SPACs go back, but with no future

1 Jun 2022

A freight firm with little revenue and ambitious projections agreed to a $500 mln blank check merger, while Forbes has called its SPAC tie-up off. Looming regulations have taken the shine off these once-popular deals. Banks and companies who stay the course are taking a risk.

Geely-backed auto SPAC deal revs up too fast

31 May 2022

Unprofitable maker of tech for car cockpits, Ecarx, is going public via a $3.5 bln sale to a blank-cheque firm, but a plan to boost its sales beyond Li Shufu’s marques looks ambitious. The record Chinese deal requires a leap of faith so soon after Didi’s wild listing ride.

“Temptation Island” SPAC dangles drama and sequels

11 May 2022

Banijay, maker of the reality TV show, will merge with betting firm Betclic through a blank-cheque firm, valuing both at 7 bln euros. It’s an odd mix with few synergies, offset by a reasonable valuation. Founder Stéphane Courbit gets a cleaner balance sheet for more deals.

Grindr’s SPAC profile picture is a blur

10 May 2022

The LGBTQ community’s favoured dating app is listing via a merger with a blank-cheque firm run by a major shareholder. The $2.1 bln price tag looks chunky next to peers like Bumble. Besides data security and governance, investors can fret about potential conflicts of interest.

French financial royalty falls flat in music SPAC

19 Apr 2022

A blank-cheque vehicle backed by billionaire François-Henri Pinault and banker Matthieu Pigasse struck a $1 bln deal with Deezer. The European music streamer has carved out a niche and may fend off Spotify. But the SPAC is paying a higher multiple for a slower-growing company.

How private LBO lenders can compete with banks

8 Apr 2022

From Thoma Bravo to Apollo, non-bank providers of credit are getting busy. No wonder, since they have some $1.2 trln to invest. They charge more than traditional lenders, but for buyout equity investors that's offset by higher risk tolerance and leverage than banks can offer.

Be ready for a wave of embarrassing DMs

8 Apr 2022

Citigroup is pausing work on blank-check vehicles. The SEC is investigating block trades. And Elon Musk’s Twitter stake and appointment to the board are raising eyebrows. As in past moments of market turmoil, sloppy communications behind the scenes may later lead to red faces.

Moped charger gets trapped in electric-car traffic

7 Apr 2022

Shares in Engine No. 1-backed Gogoro have jumped 16% since this week’s debut, adding zip to the Taiwanese battery-swapping scooter maker’s valuation. Yet it trails most car-charging outfits. There are risks, but Asia’s reliance on two-wheelers warrants a narrower gap.

Fosun fashion deal hangs on ‘Made in China’ label

23 Mar 2022

The conglomerate is showcasing its Lanvin-led collection of upscale brands in a Primavera-backed New York SPAC. The $1.9 bln valuation, impressive growth and international flair should make this mini LVMH wannabe prêt-à-porter. Chinese red is a tricky shade for investors, though.

Shell company digs deep for Glencore copper

18 Mar 2022

Cash and potential new equity cover only half the $1.1 bln Metals Acquisition is paying to buy an Aussie mine from the commodities giant. A raft of debt and some future revenue will plug the gap. Copper’s role in the energy transition makes the financial engineering worthwhile.

Gary Cohn lottery deal gives investors extra plays

24 Jan 2022

The former Goldmanite's SPAC is merging with Allwyn, implying an $8 bln market cap for the European lottery operator. There's a novel twist: Bonus shares will go to owners who don't redeem their stock. It should help an already sensible-looking bet get over a common SPAC hurdle.

Asia comes late, with hangups, to the SPAC party

13 Jan 2022

Two blank-cheque companies are listing in Singapore. Share sales will trickle out of Hong Kong too. Yet strict rules set in both centres suggest neither will match New York’s wild success. That’s fine if it protects a repeat of the region’s past disasters with shell firms.

Fanatics takes Topps at rock bottom

4 Jan 2022

The flashy new winner in U.S. collectibles is buying its old-school rival’s unit. It comes months after Fanatics effectively busted Topps’ deal to merge with a SPAC by grabbing the official American baseball-card business from 2026. Now Fanatics is sweeping up its victim, too.

SPAC deal hiccups are rarer than they ought to be

4 Jan 2022

EToro, an Israeli rival to retail trading platform Robinhood, just cut its worth by over 15% in a deal with a blank-check company. Stretched valuations suggest there should be more rejigs like this in SPAC world. But sponsors have powerful incentives to forge ahead regardless.

The Exchange: Riding the high-tech fitness boom

4 Jan 2022

Signa Sports United is a network of web shops and fulfilment systems for cycling, team sports and outdoor kit. Its CEO Stephan Zoll speaks to Dasha Afanasieva about going public through a Ron Burkle-backed SPAC, and how punters are spending big on sophisticated bikes and rackets.

Pumped IPO market has slow puncture

28 Dec 2021

Listings on U.S. markets trashed prior records to raise over $300 billion in 2021, fueled by blank-check fever and tech newbies. Examined closely, it isn’t as bubbly as 1999-2000. But even ignoring SPAC indigestion, the performance of newly public shares points to a slowdown.