Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Chamath Palihapitiya steps down from Virgin Galactic, speculative investors drive 700% spike in former SPACs with low floats, and Bakkt slides 19%
Virgin Galactic Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya Steps Down From Board
Serial dealmaker Chamath Palihapitiya stepped down as chairman of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPCE), an abrupt departure as the space-tourism company moves from startup phase toward paying flights.
Palihapitiya plans to focus on his other board commitments and the resignation did not result from any disagreements with the company, Virgin Galactic said Friday. Current director and Chief Investment Officer Evan Lovell was appointed interim chairman as the company begins a search for a successor.
READSpeculators Drive 700% Jump in Former SPACs With Low Floats
Speculative investors are piling into shares of companies that went public by merging with blank-check firms with low floats, according to Bloomberg.
At one point on Thursday, luxury travel company Inspirato Inc. (NASDAQ:ISPO) soared as much as 772% while Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTN) surged 746% and Middle Eastern Spotify Technology SA rival Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGH) tripled. The three recently combined with SPACs that saw the majority of investors opt to return their shares in the shell company for cash.
READCrypto Platform Bakkt Dives as Forecast Dims Post-SPAC Optimism
Bakkt Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BKKT) shares slid 19%, the biggest drop since mid-December, after quarterly results left investors questioning how long the digital-asset marketplace will take to realize its much ballyhooed potential.
The slide comes even after the Alpharetta, Georgia-based company reported revenue of $39.4 million, an almost 40% jump from the year-earlier period. Investors on a conference call keyed on the firm’s 2022 outlook, asking whether Bakkt could meet months-old projections made in the midst of its merger with a blank-check company.
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At the SPAC of Dawn There are signs that the macro environment for SPACs is gradually improving, but the Screaming Eagle team yesterday announced a non-redemption agreement for its combination with Lionsgate Studios. Such agreements are generally a lever one pulls when a SPAC expects a potentially turbulent closing. All in all, the terms for...
Israeli tech firms have made up an outsized proportion of SPAC activity and despite the ongoing tensions in its region, that dealmaking is continuing unabated. In fact, the SPAC named for the particular mission of taking Israeli firms public through SPACs, Israel Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:ISRL) in fact just took one step closer in completing that...
At the SPAC of Dawn Although the market has largely recovered from a negative stretch last week, the roller coaster is tilted back downward for Trump Media (NASDAQ:DJT), which slid -8% yesterday to $32.57 – one of its lowest points since closing with Digital World last month. Other SPACs and de-SPACs are having a more...
Remember the metaverse? Many do not. Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) attempted transition to virtually living and working seemed to mark a trend that went up and down quickly, but one SPAC deal has both survived that roller coaster and may rise with a second. Back in December 2022, Newbury Street (NASDAQ:NBST) announced a $1.85 billion combination with...
At the SPAC of Dawn Tucked into the bill that provides $95 billion in funding to American allies passed by the House this weekend is another measure that is likely to have far more impact on at least one pending deal in SPAC world. It would appear that the timing was fortuitous for TikTok rival...