Gary Simanson Makes an Encore Appearance with Thunder Bridge Acquisition, Ltd.
This is turning into a busy week for SPACs… Yesterday, May Day in fact, we saw Thunder Bridge Acquisition, Ltd., file their S-1 for a $200 million SPAC focusing on the financial services sector. Gary Simanson will be President, CEO and Director and if any of you recall, Gary led the 2006 SPAC, Community Bankers Acquisition Corp. Hard to say if that one was successful since almost immediately after they completed their acquisition, the world fell apart and the financial crisis hit community and regional banks hard. However, it should be noted that Community Bankers Acquisition Corp. was an $8.00 unit SPAC and it’s currently trading at $8.80 as of today’s close.
Monroe Capital LLC, a private credit asset management firm specializing in direct lending and opportunistic private credit investing, is backstopping the trust for $50 million with a right of first refusal to provide up to 51% of any necessary debt financing in connection with Thunder Bridge’s initial business combination.
Cantor Fitzgerald is bookrunner and CLSA is co-manager. However, I find the addition of CLSA odd. If you look at the underwriting section of the S-1, it says, “CLSA Limited is not a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and may not make sales in the United States or to U.S. persons. CLSA Limited has agreed that it does not intend to and will not offer or sell any of our units in the United States or to U.S. persons in connection with this offering.” It sounds like Thunder Bridge will be making a push to sell to international investors.
If you would like to check the IPO terms as of today’s filing, you can review the full profile here
At the SPAC of Dawn There are signs that the macro environment for SPACs is gradually improving, but the Screaming Eagle team yesterday announced a non-redemption agreement for its combination with Lionsgate Studios. Such agreements are generally a lever one pulls when a SPAC expects a potentially turbulent closing. All in all, the terms for...
Israeli tech firms have made up an outsized proportion of SPAC activity and despite the ongoing tensions in its region, that dealmaking is continuing unabated. In fact, the SPAC named for the particular mission of taking Israeli firms public through SPACs, Israel Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:ISRL) in fact just took one step closer in completing that...
At the SPAC of Dawn Although the market has largely recovered from a negative stretch last week, the roller coaster is tilted back downward for Trump Media (NASDAQ:DJT), which slid -8% yesterday to $32.57 – one of its lowest points since closing with Digital World last month. Other SPACs and de-SPACs are having a more...
Remember the metaverse? Many do not. Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) attempted transition to virtually living and working seemed to mark a trend that went up and down quickly, but one SPAC deal has both survived that roller coaster and may rise with a second. Back in December 2022, Newbury Street (NASDAQ:NBST) announced a $1.85 billion combination with...
At the SPAC of Dawn Tucked into the bill that provides $95 billion in funding to American allies passed by the House this weekend is another measure that is likely to have far more impact on at least one pending deal in SPAC world. It would appear that the timing was fortuitous for TikTok rival...