Q1 2020 SPAC IPO Auditor League Tables
Below are the newly released SPAC Auditor League Tables for the first quarter of 2020. As you can see below, the Auditor League is dominated by Marcum LLP and WithumSmith+Brown (“Withum”) so each quarter is generally just a look into how close these two competitors come to beating each other.
As for the results, for the first quarter of 2020, Marcum took the top spot based on total volume with $1.744 billion in auditing assignments, but Withum led based on deal count with seven assignments, nearly double Marcum’s four assignments. Additionally, Marcum was the auditor for Churchill Capital Corp. III, the largest SPAC ever priced. However, Churchill III’s $1.1 billion in gross proceeds raised did bump Marcum’s average deal size up to $436 million. For comparison, Withum’s average deal size was $242.7 million, despite being the auditor for Flying Eagle ($690 million), DFP Healthcare ($230 million), dMY Technology ($230 million) and CITIC Capital ($276 million).
Looking at the rest of the field, we see KPMG LLP with one auditing assignment, but a big one – Gores Holdings IV, Inc. – at $425 million. Additionally, Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk LLP, which is technically part of Marcum LLP, but focuses on audit, accounting, and consulting services to Chinese companies listed in the U.S., also had one SPAC auditing assignment with the $57.5 million Newborn Acquisition Corp.
The year is still early and seeing as how Marcum and Withum are always neck and neck in this league, it will be interesting to see who leads at the end of the second quarter. Both firms have had strong starts already, so expect a similar result by the end of June. It’s just a case of which one will lead and by how much.
You can find all of the published League Tables by clicking here.
Ranked by Volume
(All data is sort-able using the arrow keys located in the header cells)
Q1 2020
| Rank | Auditor | Volume ($mm) | Deal Count (Total) | Avg Size ($mm) | % Mkt Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcum LLP | 1,744.0 | 4 | 436.0 | 44.4% |
| 2 | WithumSmith+Brown, PC | 1,698.6 | 7 | 242.7 | 43.3% |
| 3 | KPMG LLP | 425.0 | 1 | 425.0 | 10.8% |
| 4 | Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk LLP | 57.5 | 1 | 57.5 | 1.5% |
Q4 2019
| Rank | Auditor | Volume ($mm) | Deal Count (Total) | Avg Size ($mm) | % Mkt Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcum LLP | 1,788.8 | 9 | 198.8 | 52.9% |
| 2 | WithumSmith+Brown, PC | 1,333.0 | 7 | 190.4 | 39.4% |
| 3 | Grant Thornton LP | 258.8 | 1 | 258.8 | 7.7% |
FY 2019
| Rank | Auditor | Volume ($mm) | Deal Count (Total) | Avg Size ($mm) | % Mkt Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcum LLP | 6,648.8 | 29 | 229.3 | 48.9% |
| 2 | WithumSmith+Brown, PC | 5,164.6 | 21 | 245.9 | 38.0% |
| 3 | Grant Thornton LP | 984.4 | 4 | 246.1 | 7.2% |
| 4 | KPMG LLP | 400.0 | 1 | 400.0 | 2.9% |
| 5 | BPM LLP | 172.5 | 1 | 172.5 | 1.3% |
| 6 | Malone Bailey LLP | 115.0 | 1 | 115.0 | 0.8% |
| 7 | RBSM LLP | 57.5 | 1 | 57.5 | 0.4% |
| 8 | UHY LLP | 57.5 | 1 | 57.5 | 0.4% |
Source: SPACInsider, Ranked by volume
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