SPACs

Trump SPAC is the last thing U.S. watchdogs need

22 Oct 2021

A blank-check firm’s deal with former President Donald Trump could be a toxic cocktail for top markets cop Gary Gensler. Not because of the potential for investor abuse, but because it risks drawing the SEC and other regulators further into a counterproductive political quagmire.

Trump app is ultimate art of the SPAC deal

21 Oct 2021

The former president’s social network ticks many boxes for a blank-check firm. He has a checkered business history, would struggle to launch a regular stock offering, and is valuing the yet-to-be-launched service at up to $1.7 bln. It’s also a huge test for securities regulators.

China is missing wildcard in $2.5 bln casino SPAC

20 Oct 2021

Japan’s Universal Entertainment plans to float its Okada Manila resort through a shell company run by former Sands director Jason Ader. A modest valuation will hold appeal for such a fast-developing market. China’s closed borders, however, make it a deceptively risky bet.

SPAC sponsor giveaways keep IPOs coming

12 Oct 2021

New U.S. blank-check companies are still managing to raise cash, though not at the heady pace of early 2021. To keep the bandwagon rolling, investors are getting incentives like almost-free shares. The vehicles’ backers make so much money that they have plenty of room to share.

Polestar SPAC offers sober detour on EV hype road

27 Sep 2021

The Swedish electric-car maker is merging with Guggenheim Partners’ blank-cheque vehicle at a $20 bln valuation. A suitably racy revenue multiple needs turbocharged growth to avoid future potholes. But unlike rival Lucid, Chinese-owned Polestar at least has existing production.

Hong Kong unicorn bets on positive Covid results

16 Sep 2021

Biotech upstart Prenetics is set to go public in a $1.7 bln merger with a blank-cheque firm. Demand for virus test kits at airports and homes has boosted sales, but that is unlikely to last. Growth will depend on new technologies and habits in a post-pandemic world.

SPAC deal is private-stock trading coming of age

13 Sep 2021

Helping investors, employees and others trade shares of companies that haven’t yet gone public used to be a seriously gray area of finance. Now Forge, one of the players, is set to get its own listing in a $2 bln blank-check merger. With market maturity comes more competition.

Today’s Theranos would have gone public via a SPAC

8 Sep 2021

Elizabeth Holmes’ blood-testing outfit touted novel technology and big future sales. Holmes, on trial, blurred lines between marketing and fraud. Trevor Milton, founder of electric-truck firm Nikola, now faces similar charges. A key difference: Nikola is already publicly traded.

Capital Calls: SPACs’ defense, Zoom

31 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: Nearly 60 corporate law firms put their names to a rejection of recent suits against blank-check firms; the video-conferencing company reported slowing growth in the second quarter.

Capital Calls: Forbes catches SPAC wave

27 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The business brand and magazine has agreed to merge with a blank-check firm in a $630 million deal, upping its value since last time it changed hands.

Gig-work startup is bad fit with today’s SPACs

25 Aug 2021

ShiftPixy, a temporary-employment app whose shares, floated in 2017, have lost 99% of their value since, has cut the funding target for four blank-check vehicles it is sponsoring. It looks like a last-ditch effort to score in an indiscriminate SPAC market that no longer exists.

Capital Calls: Delta Air Lines’ vaccine stick

25 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. carrier will charge unvaccinated stateside employees $200 per month towards healthcare. Adding some push to the pull of incentives makes sense.

Branson’s second space SPAC draws awkward parallel

23 Aug 2021

Virgin Orbit, an offshoot of Galactic, inked a blank-cheque deal valuing it at $3.2 bln. With just three successful satellite launches, the projections are a leap of faith. But Orbit is using Galactic’s inflated multiples for validation. It underscores SPACs’ otherworldliness.

Ackman’s SPAC inconveniences everyone

20 Aug 2021

The hedge fund manager aimed to have the biggest and most shareholder-friendly blank-check firm. After a deal setback and a lawsuit, he’s hoping to return $4 bln to investors early. His novel ideas have become a burden for them, for him, for regulators and even for other SPACs.

Bill Ackman’s SPAC is a treat that is going moldy

19 Aug 2021

A shareholder is suing the hedge fund manager, claiming his blank-check company acted like an investment company and should be governed as such. U.S. regulatory ambiguity creates scope for such disputes. Clearer guidelines would help, but for now, some managers will be deterred.

Capital Calls: Walmart plays both ends of the trade

17 Aug 2021

Concise views on the global economy: The U.S. retailer expects strong sales throughout the year despite a surge in Covid-19.

Spinning Eagle is a SPAC twist, not a revolution

16 Aug 2021

Harry Sloan’s blank-check firm wants to raise $2 bln with the option to spin off some cash in another SPAC. It's a way to have scale to buy a big target without being forced to. Unlike, say, Bill Ackman's overwrought effort, it's a reasonable tweak that shouldn't worry regulators.

SPAC five-year plans fall short of Soviet accuracy

12 Aug 2021

AppHarvest, a greenhouse grower that completed a SPAC merger earlier this year, cut its 2021 sales forecast by nearly two-thirds. Revenue-free firms float on five-year projections, but a series of early stumbles show most long-term forecasts are practically a stab in the dark.

Capital Calls: Olympics on TV, Abrdn

10 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: NBC Universal's prime-time viewers for the Tokyo games were only half as many as for London 2012, boding ill for traditional U.S. TV; the British asset manager formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen may be turning the corner.

Ackman’s SPAC tries to run before it can walk

3 Aug 2021

The hedgie wanted his blank-check vehicle to buy 10% of Universal Music for $4 bln and live on to find a second deal. His structure was already non-standard. Adding exotic features brought a clash with regulators trying to set SPAC norms. Ackman’s next attempt needs to be vanilla.