Big news in SPAC Land….Morgan Stanley has decided to jump into the SPAC underwriting pool with both feet by hiring Bennett Schachter away from Goldman Sachs. That’s quite a splash. Morgan Stanley has, until now, sort of tip-toed around SPACs having only been an underwriter on three deals since 2009 (Hunter Maritime, Leisure and Boxwood). You always got the sense that they were never fully committed to their SPAC program. Well that’s changed now.
Bennett Schachter had been Goldman Sach’s head SPAC banker, getting Goldman involved in a number of high profile transactions. Most recently, Goldman was the left lead underwriter on the $305.6 million Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp. IPO. By hiring Bennett away from Goldman, Morgan Stanley just signaled that they are very serious about committing to SPACs going forward.
SPACs just got a whole lot more competitive (As if they weren’t already).
Hudson I (NASDAQ:HUDA) has signed a definitive agreement to combine with EV maker Aiways Europe at an equity value of $410 million. Munich, Germany-headquartered Aiways Europe is developing a line of EV SUVs for the European market with support from an affiliate manufacturer in China. The combined company is expected to trade on the Nasdaq...
The clearest theme for the changes to come under the incoming Trump administration is lower taxes domestically and trade barriers abroad. And, the election’s impacts on the investment climate have been broadly favorable to SPACs, but this policy-making direction could have detrimental impacts on SPAC deals themselves. That’s because international targets have made up an...
At the SPAC of Dawn Activity has been picking up in SPACland after a sleepy start to the month, but the biggest news for the this corner of the market is not SPAC-specific. SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced his intention to resign on January 20. His resignation press release touted the $21 billion in penalties...
Deals and Amendments Arogo Capital (OTC:AOGO) has received notice that its merger target Ayurcann Holdings (CSE:AYUR) has terminated their business combination citing a breach on behalf of the SPAC. Ayurcann expects to be paid a $250,000 breakup free from Arogo. News and Rumors PR: Smart TV firm Innovid (NYSE:CTV), which combined with ION 2 in...
At the SPAC of Dawn Wednesday night saw two more SPACs price their IPOs, which means November’s eight listings will now eclipse October’s haul of seven and the five IPOs of September. Amid this accelerating momentum, a new name could soon be seen on a number of new SPACs. EF Hutton rebranded to D. Boral...