Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Vista Equity considers SPACs, ousted founder of Velodyne wants directors off the board, and Ackman deal remains elusive
Robert Smith’s Vista Equity Weighs Joining Rivals With Two SPACs
Vista Equity Partners is exploring raising two SPACs despite a slowdown in issuance in the vehicles that have gained mainstream popularity and even inspired a hip-hop track.
Vista, led by billionaire Robert F. Smith, last month registered entities named V-Acquisition I Corp. and V-Acquisition II Corp. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to data reviewed by Bloomberg.
READThe Founder of Lidar Maker Velodyne Is Going To War With His Own SPAC
David Hall, the founder of leading lidar manufacturer Velodyne, is going to war with the SPAC that acquired his company. In a letter, Hall is calling for the resignation of two of the company’s SPAC-appointed board directors, whom he blames for Velodyne’s “poor financial performance.”
“I will not stand idly by and watch the board squander Velodyne Lidar’s bright future with what I believe is a lack of strategic focus and poor corporate governance,” Hall writes.
READAckman Says Hopes to Make Announcement on SPAC Target Within Weeks
Ackman told investors on a quarterly call that his team is “working to complete the transaction” and that he likes the business and loves the management team.
If however the deal should collapse, Ackman said he would then move on to his next target. Either way, he said he would offer an update.
The SPAC Overcorrection
“It’s not even the SPAC market that’s tightening; it’s the pipe market,” Scott Gallaway tells the Intelligencer.
On the latest Pivot podcast, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss why the shell companies have fallen out of favor — and why they will likely have an enduring place in the market regardless.
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Blue Ocean (NASDAQ:BOCN) provided significantly more texture today in the presentation for its $275 million combination with Asian digital media group TNL Mediagene, which it expects to hit profitability in the second half of the year despite a slight shakeup in financing for the transaction. The first big update in the first investor deck is...
At the SPAC of Dawn A brand new market may have just opened up for space de-SPACs as NASA administrator Bill Nelson announced a shift in the agency’s $11 billion program for a mission to return samples from Mars. Rather than rely on the agency’s internal technologies that would be predicted to get a sample...
Overall deal flow between SPACs and biotech firms has slowed over the last year, but some pending FDA changes could breathe new life into particular business models within the space. In particular, the FDA has asked Congress as part of its 2025 Legislative Proposals to eliminate the interchangeability designation for biosimilar medications, claiming the existing...
At the SPAC of Dawn Ever since Digital World announced its combination with Trump Media (NASDAQ:DJT) back in October 2021, it was clear that SPACworld and the Trump show were set to be intertwined for quite some time. And, although not every headline has a bearing on the wider SPAC world, Trump Media’s post-close rise...
AltC (NYSE:ALCC) has reportedly been taking the pitch deck for its combination with nuclear fission firm Oklo on the road in recent weeks, which has generated the rare result of a SPAC trading significantly above its trust value still well before completing its deal. The SPAC has an estimated $10.59 per share in its trust...