SPACs

Air-taxi SPAC only partly defies financial gravity

30 Mar 2021

German flying-cab startup Lilium is getting a U.S. listing at a $2.4 bln enterprise value. Cutting commutes from Philadelphia to Manhattan may appeal to the richest 4%. But with a 2024 take-off and plenty of rivals, including chopper firm Blade, it will be hitting crowded skies.

Capital Calls: BlackRock’s Archegos angle, SPACs

30 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The fallout from the collapse of Bill Hwang’s family office gives regulators reasons to focus on funds, not fund managers; and bosses of blank-check companies don’t take investor questions.

Cazoo’s $7 bln deal depends on European car drive

29 Mar 2021

The UK online used-car seller is going public in New York through a blank-cheque merger. A multiple of more than twice projected 2022 sales is lower than U.S. peer Carvana. Still, those numbers require the company to grab a big chunk of a growing market at home and in the EU.

WeWork finally dons office-appropriate attire

26 Mar 2021

Merging with a SPAC will give the shared-office lessor $1.3 bln in fresh cash and a $9 bln valuation far below the price tag it flaunted in 2019. The resilience of its revenue is encouraging. But whiffs of the old WeWork remain, like a reliance on aggressive growth assumptions.

Robinhood SPAC rival makes tough U.S. trade

16 Mar 2021

Online brokerage eToro will go public via a blank-check firm with SoftBank and Third Point as backers. Its established access to crypto means the $10.4 bln valuation is doable. But growth depends on the U.S. market, which is crowded, and regulatory scrutiny is ramping up.

Capital Calls: McKinsey, Celebrity SPACs

10 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: McKinsey’s new boss isn’t new enough; the SEC tells investors to be careful of celebrities bearing SPACs.

Uber for ambulances treats one ill, fuels another

9 Mar 2021

DocGo’s roaming medics, merging with a blank-check firm for $1.1 bln, are a creative addition to the U.S. healthcare system. The jargon-laden business is, however, in its early stages and unprofitable. The SPAC boom has blurred the line between good ideas and good investments.

Britain’s zeal for financial reform could backfire

8 Mar 2021

Finance minister Rishi Sunak has endorsed changing rules to promote stock market listings and fintech. Insurance may be next. The drive not only risks a return to the pre-2008 “light touch” approach to oversight. It also makes financial services deals with other countries harder.

U.S. SPACs are a first step for Asian tech giants

8 Mar 2021

Walmart’s Indian e-tailer Flipkart is mulling a New York debut via a blank-cheque firm valuing it at $35 bln. Other wannabe issuers in emerging Asia are eyeing dual listings to stay close to home. If China’s any guide, complex structures will materialise sooner rather than later.

Hippo’s $5 bln debut marries promise with bubble

4 Mar 2021

The hot tech-focused home insurance startup is going public by combining with a blank-check firm backed by the founders of LinkedIn and Zynga. But valuing Hippo’s sales some 60 times more than established rival Allstate’s is as oversized as the mammal it’s named for.

Capital Calls: OPEC+, Michaels

4 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Recovery concerns keep a lid on the oil cartel’s supply taps; Apollo tries its hand at craft retailer Michaels.

London IPO shakeup is more about SPACs than tech

3 Mar 2021

Finance minister Rishi Sunak plans to overhaul stock market rules to attract more listings. The changes may prevent some UK startups from defecting. But they also allow London to join the craze for blank-cheque offerings. The costs of weaker regulation will become apparent later.

Hey Hong Kong, leave those SPACs alone

3 Mar 2021

The Asian financial centre may ape Wall Street by letting blank-cheque firms list on its bourse. Yet it only recently squished a boom in shifty shell companies. And the issues SPACs claim to avoid aren’t relevant for Hong Kong IPOs. The exchange is better off steering clear.

Meme stocks game could stop with Gensler

2 Mar 2021

The nominee to lead the U.S. securities regulator talked about trading gamification, inadequately funded platforms, and payments for order flow. The GameStop share-price roller coaster deserves a close look. But the SEC has other, perhaps tastier, fish to fry, like SPACs.

Capital Calls: Exxon, Greensill, Research SPAC

2 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: U.S. securities regulators take on the oil giant; Investors in even lower-risk funds get nervy about the supply chain finance provider; And a supplier of picks and shovels to the online trading boom gets a blank-check listing.

The house always wins with SPACs

26 Feb 2021

In poker, if you don’t know who the sucker is, it’s you. That’s also true of blank-check firms like the one that just did a deal with Lucid Motors. Sponsors, SPAC traders, merger co-investors and target-company owners all rake it in. Regular shareholders get the crumbs.

Airbnb’s post-IPO showing is a pre-SPAC throwback

25 Feb 2021

The home-sharing app’s quarterly revenue fell 22%, yet still beat rivals. Because it went through its growing pains in private, Airbnb’s first results as a listed company show an already solid business. Many startups taking the blank-check route to market won’t have that luxury.

Viewsroom: Electric cars share some market fever

25 Feb 2021

Toyota, Ford and GM are all trading at their highest level in years as investors start to pick some winners among traditional automakers. Fear of missing the next Tesla, though, means shareholders are keeping the heady valuations for upstarts like latest SPAC target Lucid Motors.

Indian renewables SPAC sets temperate tone

24 Feb 2021

Goldman-backed ReNew Power is listing in New York via a blank-cheque firm. It’s a decent bet on India’s pivot to clean energy, with a structure and valuation that factor in the industry’s flaky customers. Future Asian SPAC deals in waiting may not be so well grounded.

Drinks-can SPAC offers a healthier kind of bubble

23 Feb 2021

Packing firm Ardagh’s metal unit differs from some blank-check targets in that it’s profitable and tangible. The $8.5 bln valuation relies on punchy assumptions, but is less fizzy than, say, rockets or genetic testing. It’s the kind of thing SPACs need to build credibility.