Spacs

Spac mania is dead. The SEC wants to keep it that way

A looming regulatory push by the SEC under Gary Gensler is said to have contributed to the Spac cool-down

New rules aim to make special purpose acquisition company deals more like traditional IPOs

5 min read

Ex fund giant boss calls for form of capitalism that is 'good for the person in the street'

Keith Skeoch ‘very doubtful’ over benefits of Spac deals

'You’ve got to ask yourself who benefits from these things?'

3 min read

Crypto firms eye public listings as markets rebound

Bitdeer recently went public via a SPAC, and Chia Network is exploring an IPO

4 min read

Spac craze crumbles into liquidations

Falling stock prices and rising interest rates have essentially frozen the market for new public listings

4 min read

UK cyber firm Arqit Quantum faces SEC probe over Spac merger

Arqit's filing on 14 December with the SEC said it had many 'project-based' clients with 'uneven milestone payment profiles' rather than recurring revenue

4 min read

Spac activity slumps to 2017 levels as blank-cheque boom fades

Once-hot blank-cheque firms have fallen out of favour alongside cryptocurrencies and other speculative investments

2 min read

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Tontine to shut down, return $4bn to shareholders

Bill Ackman said in a letter to shareholders: ‘We have been unable to consummate a transaction that both meets our investment criteria and is executable’

2 min read

Spacs face new disclosure requirements from US regulators

Blank-cheque firms accounted for majority of IPOs in 2021, but have since slowed

5 min read

Why Spacs could go from flashy no-profit ventures to handy ETFs

A new ETF is offering a twist on investing in special-purpose acquisition companies

3 min read

Tiger Woods’ Spac formally seeks an IPO, aims to raise $150m

Other Spac backers include tennis star Serena Williams, basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, and National Basketball Association standout Kevin Durant

Reed Sherman

A 26-year-old short-seller on the Reddit retail army and shorting in the longest bull market in history

Reed Sherman says most Spacs should never have made it anywhere near a public stock exchange — and sees ESG as ‘as virtue signalling at the highest level’

SEC’s Gary Gensler puts Spacs in regulatory crosshairs

Wall Street regulator says popular vehicles don’t provide investors with enough protection

American Express close to deal with Apollo-backed Spac

The deal would represent a vote of investor confidence in business travel despite a bumpy 2021 recovery

3 min read

Earlier this year, Schroders, which has invested in US-based Spacs on a selective basis, conducted its own research on the ‘pros, cons and incentives' behind the craze

Schroders keeping ‘open mind’ on Spacs as activity set for rise

One of Schroders' most senior fund managers predicts demand for the listed shell companies could pick up in the new year

3 min read

Dominic Perks, Hambro Perks’ chief executive, said it had chosen London because ‘it’s the technology capital of Europe’

Hambro Perks Spac chooses London after FCA overhaul

The UK has changed rules around Spacs to attract more significant listings

2 min read

To cash in on innovation, investors need to be given confidence

Why sub-scale Spacs need rooting out

Blank-cheque firms can provide a huge boost to growth companies, but the right regime needs to be in place first

3 min read