SPACInsider 2024 Awards

2024 was clearly a rebuilding year for SPACs and the pace didn’t really gather momentum until June. But in typical SPAC fashion, once the market catches fire, it builds very, very quickly. With that being said, there are some noteworthy standouts this year that are worth highlighting.

As such, this is the fifth annual SPACInsider Awards where we honor the players and participants that stood out in an impressive field.

However, no matter what year we look at, it’s always challenging narrowing the categories to just one winner.  Nonetheless, the below highlights deals, teams, sponsors, bankers and lawyers we have chosen as standouts in the 2024 SPAC market.

BEST COMBINATION (De-SPAC Deal of the Year)

Sable Offshore (NYSE: SOC)

The Flame Acquisition Corp./Sable Offshore combination, unanimously wins the Deal of the Year award as best SPAC combination of 2024.  The Flame team priced their IPO in February of 2021, and announced this deal in November 2022, which might have given investors pause for concern. But, the team persevered in their strategy to purchase the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) offshore oil field and its associated onshore facilities off the coast of California. This came with a significant amount of regulatory risk that they were able to ultimately overcome. This DeSPAC, which closed in February 2024, is noted for the foresight in timing an energy combination and their fortitude in seeing it through, which resulted in a DeSPAC trading price near $23.00.  For these reasons, the Flame Acquisition Corp./Sable Offshore combination is 2024’s Deal of the Year. Well Done.

BEST IPO

Legato Merger Corp. III (NYSE: LEGT)

Much has been written in 2024 about Serial Sponsors, but Legato was the first truly serial sponsor team to price in February 2024, which was still a very challenging IPO environment. The Legato Team has a wealth of experience having participated as a SPAC sponsor since the early 2000’s. And, despite a difficult February market, they priced Legato Merger Corp. III, a 100% in trust IPO, and managed a day-one VWAP of $10.06. An encouraging sign for the SPAC market as a whole. More importantly, they felt confident being back in the market despite only one IPO previously priced in January (Legato III was only the second IPO of the year).  For those reasons, they are 2024’s Best IPO of the year.

BEST SPONSOR TEAM

The Eagle Team and FinTech Team

The Best Sponsor Team in 2024 is being shared by both the Eagle team and the FinTech team (Betsy Cohen’s team). However, there were many, many good teams to choose from in 2024. That’s because 2024 was most noted for being the “return of the serial sponsor”. However, no team represents repeat sponsors better than the Eagle and Fintech teams, having completed 13 DeSPAC transactions between them (8 for Eagle, 5 for Fintech). These two sponsor teams have participated in the SPAC market across numerous cycles and both managed to refile for new SPACs on the same day in September 2024, an auspicious sign for the SPAC market. It heralded optimism for 2025 and both are deserving of the Best Sponsor Team in 2024.

BEST BANK

Cantor, Honorable Mention – BTIG, Cohen & Company Capital Markets

Cantor, far and away, was the most prolific underwriter in 2024 having priced 12 IPOs. Furthermore, Cantor is a seasoned SPAC firm having participated in the SPAC market for over 10 years while consistently ranking near the top of the IPO league tables. This summer, Cantor led the SPAC IPO comeback pricing nine IPOs between June and August, and for these reasons are Best Bank in 2024. However, an Honorable Mention needs to be made for both BTIG and Cohen & Company, which also made strong pushes this year with 8 and 6 IPOs priced, respectively. All three banks total 26 IPOs, which accounts for 46% of all SPAC IPOs priced in 2024. For these reasons, all three Banks are included in the Best Bank award for 2024.

BEST LAW FIRM

Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP

In 2024, one law firm dominated in both IPO legal engagements as well as in De-SPAC advisory engagements… Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, or “EGS”.  EGS is no stranger to the SPAC League Tables and has consistently ranked at or near the top. However, in 2024, EGS accounted for 25 IPO engagements (12 as Issuer’s Counsel, 13 as Underwriter’s Counsel) and was an advisor to six announced DeSPAC transactions. They are consistently active in all aspects of the SPAC market, regardless of the SPAC cycle, and for those reasons, EGS receives the Best SPAC Law Firm in 2024 award.