Ackrell I (NASDAQ:ACKIT) announced this afternoon that its business combination with outdoor cooking company Blackstone Products has been terminated and will instead liquidate its trust.
While most SPACs have terminated their deals due to unfavorable market conditions, Ackrell claims its target company refused to fund a promissory note to extend the transaction deadline. On August 27, the SPAC received a notice from Blackstone purporting to unilaterally terminate the merger agreement after the outdoor cooking company had declined to loan Ackrell I the final $200,000 requested for a promissory note dated June 21, in the principal amount of up to $600,000.
Prior to the close of business today, Ackrell had not received the $200,000 for the note, nor secured money from any other party, which was required to be deposited by today into the trust account. Blackstone’s counsel advised Ackrell that it does not have a legal obligation to loan the company the money, but the SPAC disagreed.
Nonetheless, today was Ackrell’s transaction deadline, resulting in the liquidation of the trust. The public subunits will be deemed cancelled and will represent only the right to receive the redemption amount of approximately $10.38 per share.
Ackrell anticipated funding the deal with about $139.4 million from its trust supplemented by a $31 million PIPE and $111 million in convertible notes. The note offering, which was led by FS Investments, was contingent upon certain minimum cash and price performance requirements. The deal featured a minimum cash closing condition of at least $150 million in cash.
Today’s announcement marks the second SPAC to liquidate this week, following yesterday’s liquidation of Warrior Technologies, and is the 21st SPAC to liquidate in 2022 thus far. This also marks the 43rd deal to be terminated this year.
Ackrell originally announced its $900 million business combination with outdoor cooking company Blackstone Products last year on December 23. Logan, Utah-based Blackstone provides outdoor griddles, accessories and consumables.
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