“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)?
McKinley Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:MKLYU) has filed for a $150 million SPAC to hunt for an innovative target company with an experienced financial team that has dabbled in SPACs before. The new SPAC is offering investors one right to a 1/10 share in each unit with no overfunding of the trust, but it could provide a...
At the SPAC of Dawn The rain of SPACs has continued with four expected to make their debuts during today’s trading sessions after pricing their IPOs overnight. The largest of these, EQV Ventures II (NASDAQ:EVACU), even managed an upsize, making it the largest SPAC IPO since Ares II (NYSE:AACT) pulled together $450 million in 2023....
EQV Ventures II (NASDAQ:EVACU) announced the pricing of its upsized $420 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “EVACU”, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The new SPAC plans to merge with an energy target involved in upstream exploration or production. EQV II’s management team is led by...
Vendome Acquisition Corporation I (NASDAQ:VNMEU) announced the pricing of its $200 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “VNMEU”, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The new SPAC plans to focus its search on target business in the consumer sector operating in North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe....
Origin Investment Corp. I (NASDAQ:ORIQU) announced the pricing of its $60 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “ORIQU”, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The new SPAC aims to mount a broad search for a target with a strong management and both revenue and earnings growth potential....