Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Chamath Palihapitiya steps down from Virgin Galactic, speculative investors drive 700% spike in former SPACs with low floats, and Bakkt slides 19%
Virgin Galactic Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya Steps Down From Board
Serial dealmaker Chamath Palihapitiya stepped down as chairman of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPCE), an abrupt departure as the space-tourism company moves from startup phase toward paying flights.
Palihapitiya plans to focus on his other board commitments and the resignation did not result from any disagreements with the company, Virgin Galactic said Friday. Current director and Chief Investment Officer Evan Lovell was appointed interim chairman as the company begins a search for a successor.
READSpeculators Drive 700% Jump in Former SPACs With Low Floats
Speculative investors are piling into shares of companies that went public by merging with blank-check firms with low floats, according to Bloomberg.
At one point on Thursday, luxury travel company Inspirato Inc. (NASDAQ:ISPO) soared as much as 772% while Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTN) surged 746% and Middle Eastern Spotify Technology SA rival Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGH) tripled. The three recently combined with SPACs that saw the majority of investors opt to return their shares in the shell company for cash.
READCrypto Platform Bakkt Dives as Forecast Dims Post-SPAC Optimism
Bakkt Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BKKT) shares slid 19%, the biggest drop since mid-December, after quarterly results left investors questioning how long the digital-asset marketplace will take to realize its much ballyhooed potential.
The slide comes even after the Alpharetta, Georgia-based company reported revenue of $39.4 million, an almost 40% jump from the year-earlier period. Investors on a conference call keyed on the firm’s 2022 outlook, asking whether Bakkt could meet months-old projections made in the midst of its merger with a blank-check company.
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At the SPAC of Dawn As a rough week in the market comes to a close, at least one de-SPAC has some cause to show off. Many fashion brands were among the hard hit in recent days and not simply for macro reasons. Luis Vuitton-owner LVMH (PA:MC) dropped this week after an earnings miss led...
Shepherd Ave Capital Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: SPHAU) is the latest SPAC to file to IPO, making 24 new registration statements that have filed since June 1, 2024. So far, only two of those 24 have gone public, but it does indicate an active August. In SPACLand at least, August is never slow. As for Shepherd...
At the SPAC of Dawn SPACs have now priced 20 IPOs seven months into 2024 with an eye on beating 2023’s total of 31 IPOs. With a little more than 5 months left in the year, it’s expected that SPACs should at least match that number by only needing to price roughly two IPOs per...
DT Cloud Star announced the pricing of its $60 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “DTSQU”, Thursday, July 25, 2024. The new SPAC aims to combine with an established business with long-term financial visibility, but has not limited itself to a particular industry or sector....
Launch Two (NASDAQ:LPBBU) has filed for a $200 million IPO that shows how the market has shifted for new issuance since its sister SPAC Launch One (NASDAQ:LPAAU) filed just over a month ago. Both SPACs are underwritten by Cantor Fitzgerald and seeking nominally the same raise at IPO, but Launch Two is overfunding its trust...