“I have never found any blank-check investment vehicle attractive. No matter what the reputation or what the sponsor might be. . . . They are the ultimate in terms of lack of transparency.”
— Arthur Levitt, former SEC Chairman
That’s a great quote…and it’s especially ironic given that Arthur Leavitt is currently Senior Advisor to the Carlyle Group, which is the Sponsor of Regalwood Global Energy. Oops.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen or heard negative quotes like that about SPACs. Mostly, they are from people who aren’t that well informed about the product. Or, as is the case with Arthur Leavitt, he’s referring to a time when Blank Check Companies actually were a terrible product. (To be fair, that quote from Arthur is very old.)
However, SPACs have since evolved. Bigger, better, more badass now.
So for fun, I found some old articles from back in the day that shows how the product (and the reporting) have changed over the years. Here’s hoping that one day in the near future, financial reporters will stop referencing SPACs from “the bad old days”. (Seriously, it’s a different product now. Please find a new angle.)
Note: It’s July 4th tomorrow and unless something crazy gets filed or there’s a major news announcement Thursday or Friday, we won’t be back until Monday.
Have a great Fourth of July, everyone!
SPAC Articles Through the Years
2005: Crave Huge Risk? This Investment May Be for You
2007: Wall Street’s New Status Symbol: The SPAC
2008: $300 Million to Burn, With a Catch
2016: More Wall Street banks, investors help write blank checks
2018: Why Are Top CEOs Flocking To SPACs (Blank Check Companies)?
Four Leaf Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:FORL) has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Chinese technology firm Xiaoyu Dida for undisclosed terms. The Guangzhou, China-based firm produces software and hardware for smart car washing systems. The parties have set December 31, 2025 as the initial outside date and the combined company is expected to trade...
At the SPAC of Dawn SPACs are back on the board with a new deal announcement, which is the first in a little over two weeks. This brings the fourth quarter count on fresh deals to a still-meager nine after 27 were announced in the third quarter. By contrast, this quarter has still seen more...
Range Capital Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: RANGU) announced the pricing of its $100 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “RANGU”, Friday, December 20, 2024. The new SPAC intends to take a generalist approach in searching for a business combination, but will seek opportunities in capital constrained...
SPAC Deja Vu There’s been a lot of talk this year in the SPAC market about how it’s finally reverting back to a healthier version of deal flow and the comparison is always, “….like 2019”. In fact, in 2019, Trump was in office and there were 59 SPAC IPOs priced. As of this morning, Trump...
This year has seen a variety of innovations for SPACs to continue the lifespan beyond their traditional search windows. In general, this creativity is welcome as long as investors get their chance to have a say and a redemption opportunity at the appropriate time. But, in the second half of 2024, some SPACs have not...