The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: May 21st, 2021

Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.

Congress considers legislation aimed at SPACs and the need for investor protections as the UK facilitates listing of SPACs

U.S. Congress to Hold Hearing on SPACs, Ramping Up Scrutiny 

U.S. lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny of SPACs, with a hearing set for Monday as they consider legislation aimed at curbing liability protections for the industry, according to Reuters.

Monday’s hearing in a House Financial Services subcommittee is aimed at SPACs, direct listings and IPOs, according to a hearing notice published on May 19. The House is considering legislation that would redefine “blank check company” from a key 1995 law to include SPACs, according to the notice. The law created a safe harbor that protects listed companies from shareholder litigation provided forward-looking statements are made in good faith, identified as such and couched in cautionary language.

SPACs Bolster the U.S.’s Global Lead in IPOs

Europe is losing market share as firms bypass local exchanges to list in New York through SPAC deals.

There is a large divide between European companies that list on U.S. exchanges  and companies listing on European exchanges.  This highlights Europe’s competitive disadvantage when it comes to SPACs. The region has a smaller pool of these vehicles looking for targets to take public on a European exchange.

Another issue facing Europe is that U.S.-listed SPACs offer potential takeover targets a springboard for geographic expansion, SPAC sponsors told the WSJ.
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Famous Hedge Funds Pile Into Particular SPAC

Some of the big-name firms that jumped into Altimeter Growth Corp. 2 during the first quarter included David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio)’s Appaloosa Management, Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio)’s Baupost Group, Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio)’s Maverick Capital, Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio)’s Third Point, David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio)’s Greenlight Capital and Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio)’s Tiger Global Management. The average stake size was around 1.5 million shares.

SPACs Target More ESG Companies in 2021

Companies with environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials have been high on the list of merger targets for U.S. SPACs so far in 2021, data from Nomura Greentech showed.

U.S. IPOs by SPACs with a focus on ESG or sustainability and in sectors including environmental technology, transportation, industrials, water and energy totalled 49 in the first four months of 2021, out of a total of 306, Nomura’s data showed. That compares with 40 in the second half of 2020.

SPAC Boom Boosts CLO Credit Quality 

The explosion of SPACs may have drawn widespread criticism as evidence of an overheating equity market, but in turn the CLO market has benefited, according to Global Capital.  SPACs have pumped equity into a number of highly leveraged companies, enabling lenders to enjoy their money back.   This has allowed CLO managers to enjoy a boost in credit quality.

SPACs on LSE Will Power ‘IPO Bonanza’ in London, Says Silicon Valley Bank Dealmaker

“The adoption of the measures laid out in Johnathon Hill’s Report will go a long way to ensure the necessary conditions for London to capitalize on this competitive edge to become the de-facto market for UK and European companies to list as well as attracting a more diverse investor base. Beyond the report’s recommendations however, we need to do more to educate and attract domestic institutional investors, like pension funds, to support home-grown tech companies so UK pension holders benefit from the returns within the UK innovation economy,” head of corporate finance EMEA at Silicon Valley Bank Rosh Wijayarathna tells City A.M.