• SPAC™ stands for "Special Purpose Acquisition Company"™. Also known as "blank check companies", SPACs™ are publicly-traded investment vehicles. The purpose of a SPAC™ is to effect a merger, acquisition, or other business combination with a company unidentified at IPO. 
• The majority of the funds raised in IPO are placed into a trust/escrow account, and can only be released if shareholders approve the acquisition proposed by the SPAC™ management. If a suitable target is not found, or if shareholders vote against the combination, the SPAC™ liquidates and money in trust/escrow is returned to investors.
• The members of a SPAC™ management commonly make a sizeable "at-risk" personal investment in the SPAC™; underwriters typically defer a cut of their underwriting fees (kept in trust/escrow) until such a time as the business combination is completed.
• SPACs™ trade on AMEX, NYSE, NASDAQ, the OTC Bulletin Board in the U.S. and on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam and London AIM exchanges in Europe.    

SPAC™ Stats (updated on Monday, September 15, 2008)

• In North America alone, 161 SPACs™ have been launched since 2003 and have raised over $21.9 bn in gross proceeds. 
• The average SPAC™ deal size in 2004 was $40.4 million. In 2008, it is $226.0 million. 
• Of the 161 SPACs™ traded since 2003, 
  • 57 have completed an acquisition
  • 20 have liquidated 
  • 21 announced an acquisition target
  • 63 are still looking for an acquisition
• All 10 London AIM-traded SPACs™ have completed their business combination
• All 3 Euronext-listed SPACs™ (total gross proceeds: €965.0 mm) are currently looking for an acquisition. 

SPAC™ Resources

• SPAC™ Analytics (www.spacanalytics.com) 
• Bloomberg: the Morgan Joseph Acquisition Company Index (MJACI) tracks the progress of every SPAC™ listed since 2003, from IPO to Date of Business Combination/ Liquidation.