Innovations in SPACs continue by the day, with Danny Meyer’s USHG Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: HUGS) investing in Panera’s IPO and even former President Donald Trump recently announcing a controversial deal merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DWAC). There’s much more to come as $173 billion in SPAC IPOs have yet to complete mergers after raising capital in the last few years, Dealogic data show.
Hear from a panel of experienced SPAC market participants and seasoned advisors for an inside take on lessons from successes and struggles among recent SPAC deals. IPO Edge hosted a virtual forum: SPAC to the Future Part III.
The streaming video event, hosted in partnership with Cowen, Gallagher, Vinson & Elkins, Nasdaq, ICR, MorganFranklin and The Palm Beach Hedge Fund Association, featured data from Sentieo and S3 Partners. The format included panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, along with a Q&A session, totaling approximately 90 minutes.
Panelists:
- Dr. Raluca Dinu, Founding Managing Partner of GigCapital Global and CEO of GigCapital4, Inc. (NASDAQ: GIG; merging with BigBear.ai)
- Alan Mnuchin, Chairman and CEO of Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp. (merged with Sharecare, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHCR)
- Jim Mutrie, Co-CEO Switchback II Corporation (merging with Bird Rides [NYSE: BRDS]) and former CCO and Director, SwitchBack Energy Acquisition, which merged with ChargePoint, Inc. (NYSE: CHPT)
- Eklavya U. Saraf, Global Head of SPAC Listings and Managing Director of New Listings, Nasdaq
- John C. Marchisi, National Director – SPAC Segment, Gallagher
- Chris Weekes, Managing Director and Co-Head of SPACs, Cowen
- Barbara Ard, Managing Director, Accounting & Transaction Services Lead, MorganFranklin Consulting
- Kevin Kelly, Managing Director – Business Development, Head of SPAC Services, Morrow Sodali
- Phil Denning, Partner, ICR
- Ramey Layne, Partner, Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions, Vinson & Elkins
- Ihor Dusaniwsky, Managing Director and Head of Predictive Analytics, S3 Partners
- Jarrett Banks, Editor-at-Large, IPO Edge
- John Jannarone, Editor-in-Chief, IPO Edge
Topics:
- “Meme” SPACs and trading frenzies – e.g. Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DWAC)
- New structures including Danny Meyer’s USHG Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: HUGS)
- Corporate governance considerations
- SPACs for pre-revenue or even pre-business companies and valuation questions
- Corporate governance concerns
- Surging costs of D&O and other insurance
- Mature, profitable companies going public via SPACs
- Proper controls and governance at SPACs (see example of this going wrong)
- The role of retail investors and how to communicate with them
- The $173 billion of “dry powder” in listed SPACs
Contact:
John Jannarone, Editor-in-Chief
editor@IPO-Edge.com
Twitter: @IPOEdge
