Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Churchill Capital IV is set to vote on merger with Lucid Motors, dozens of SPAC deals to enter Russell 3000 index, Jim Chanos warns of SPAC market, and Credit Suisse’s deals dry up
Churchill Capital IV Announces Shareholder Vote Date For Lucid Motors Merger
Churchill Capital IV is set to vote on its merger with Lucid Motors on July 22, and a redemption deadline of July 20.
READDozens of Groups Brought to Market Via SPACs to Enter Key Russell Index
Dozens of companies that entered US markets through deals with SPACs in the past year are set to graduate into the Russell 3000 index on Friday evening, giving a potential boost to the fortunes of electric vehicle (EV) developers and other speculative ventures, according to the Financial Times.
Among those companies are Canoo, Lordstown Motors and Nikola, companies that have dealt with the departures of key personnel and face investigations from the SEC over their disclosures to investors. All three have said they are cooperating with regulators.
Other notable additions will include the sports betting business DraftKings, healthcare company Multiplan and 3D sensors manufacturer Velodyne Lidar, according to Russell’s preliminary list.
READSPAC Boom Is Creating “Castles In The Sky”, Jim Chanos Warns
Jim Chanos, who is the founder of Kynikos Associates and best-known for predicting the collapse of energy group Enron, accused some who have taken companies public via a SPAC of “playing fast and loose with their projections” in an effort to attract retail investors.
Kynikos Associates is betting against a number of blank check companies that are “very bad businesses” and whose valuations “have gotten silly”, Chanos said. He declined to name them.
However, Kynikos is not entirely opposed to the SPAC market as it has taken long positions in blank check vehicles that are trading below $10.
READCredit Suisse’s SPAC Bonanza Dries Up
Credit Suisse’s SPAC deals are being closely monitored by investors and analysts, because revenue from them came to represent a large chunk of overall investment banking revenue last year. That raised concerns that the fees and deal volume might not be sustainable.
Credit Suisse went from making an estimated $466 million in gross SPAC underwriting fees in the first quarter, to $16.1 million between April 1 and June 15, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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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...