Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Vivendi shareholders approve Universal Music Group spin-off, family offices tap into SPACs, and ironSource merger creates 230 new millionaires
Vivendi Investors Approve UMG Plans in Activist Rebuke
Vivendi SE shareholders voted to approve the spinoff of Universal Music Group, paving the way for the world’s largest music company to be listed in Europe.
Shareholders voted 99.88% to spin off UMG, and also backed plans for a share buyback of as much as 50%, at Vivendi’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.
READFamily Offices Tap Into SPAC Boom
Family offices have participated in the SPAC boom, albeit in smaller numbers than hedge funds and other institutional investors. Among the most prominent names active in the sector are the family offices of tech entrepreneur Michael Dell, billionaire real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht and former hedge fund executive Dan Och. Billionaire financier George Soros’s family office has also begun hunting for SPAC opportunities.
“Family offices are largely exempt from registering with the SEC and they’ve got a lot of great connections,” says Jane Leung, chief investment officer at Silicon Valley Bank. “They’re able to have a lot more flexibility and nimbleness when it comes to making investments in SPACs.”
READ230 New Millionaires To Be Born Thanks To ironSource SPAC Merger
The merger between Tel Aviv-based web and mobile monetization company ironSource and a Thoma Bravo-backed SPAC next week, at a company valuation of $11 billion, is set to create an unprecedented 230 new millionaires. The massive number of new millionaires is based on the number of options different company employees hold and the valuation at which ironSource is going public.
Viola Ventures was the first fund to invest in ironSource with a $20 million investment in 2012 resulting in a $1 billion return, including dividends withdrawn from the company over the years.
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AGBA (NASDAQ:AGBA) stock is up over +90% this morning following a +211% premarket spike on news it has signed a definitive agreement to combine with social streaming video platform Triller. AGBA, the company itself, was formed by the $555 million combination between a SPAC of the same name and TAG Companies, a financial services firm...
At the SPAC of Dawn Since closing its combination with DHC last month, AI customer engagement firm BEN (NASDAQ:BNAI) has rolled out new partnerships with call center and healthcare clients. And, while it faces a fair bit of competition in the chatbot realm, several high-profile institutions have demonstrated that creating one that provides useful services...
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...