Spac™ Facts 
         
   
Member FINRA, SIPC & NYSE Euronext
 
SPAC Facts 
   

 

 
SPACs and I-Bankers
Among underwriters of SPACs™ I-Bankers is ranked 6th in "Total IPO Proceeds" with over $1.6B in 2007, and 5th in total number of offerings, according to DealFlow Media's The SPAC Report  (24 January 2008).

SPAC Facts
  • 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. 

  

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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