“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)?
BM Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:BMOKU) has filed for a $60 million IPO to bring another first-time, Asia-based team to the market. The new SPAC is serving up 1/2 warrants in each of its units and the team will have 18 months under its initial search window to close a deal. It may extend this, but only...
At the SPAC of Dawn The Fed’s rate decision day has finally come and futures are slightly green in anticipation. De-SPACs have largely opted not to hedge their bets on the event with several making large-scale equity capital raises directly on its eve. Four companies alone raised over $1 billion in secondary offerings this week,...
Pioneer Acquisition I Corp. (NASDAQ:PACHU) announced the pricing of its $220 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “PACHU”, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The new SPAC aims to combine with a target company in the healthcare sector, which could include medical device manufacturers, digital healthcare firms...
Axiom Intelligence Acquisition Corp. 1 (NASDAQ:AXINU) announced the pricing of its $175 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “AXINU”, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The new SPAC plans to combine a European infrastructure target company potentially in the energy, digitization or transportation spheres. Axiom 1’s management...
Solarius Capital (NASDAQ:INACU) has filed for a $150 million IPO to seek out a financial services target with a team making its first step into SPACs. The new SPAC is offering investors a 1/2 warrant in each unit and it will overfund its trust to 100.5% with $10.05 per unit in the trust account from...