Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
JSE reviewing listing requirements with aim to simplify them
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange will be reviewing all its listings requirements with the objective of further simplifying its requirements, as part of its ongoing efforts to create an enabling listing environment and attract local and international listings. […]
The JSE said that although its current special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) offering is accessible and flexible, it has made amendments to align with international leading markets to ensure the attractiveness and competitiveness of SPACs to issuers and investors, it said.
Further, in terms of free float for new listings, the JSE has reduced the 20% free float threshold to 10%, as it has been identified as a deterrent to listing.
READBetter Therapeutics SPAC Deal Dispute Nears Anticlimactic Ending
Litigation challenging the blank-check transaction that took Better Therapeutics Inc. public is set to end with a whimper after the deal’s architects failed to answer the investor lawsuit filed in Delaware.
Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III issued a default judgment Wednesday against Mountain Crest Capital LLC affiliates who engineered the $187 million merger between Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II and Better Therapeutics, a biotech business focused on cardiometabolic diseases. The two-page ruling left open the amount of any potential damages.
Mountain Crest, headquartered in South Carolina, didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday or after the shareholder complaint was filed.
Cathie Wood Just Sold Shopify and Bought Genius Sports
Late last week, sports data company Genius Sports (GENI -0.28%) plunged more than 10% in just one trading session. Interestingly, tech investor and CEO of Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, took advantage of the depressed stock price by adding 1.27 million shares to her position in the company.
On the same day, Wood also sold roughly 66,000 shares of e-commerce company Shopify. Perhaps this shouldn’t be too surprising, as Wood has cut her position in Shopify by nearly half since April.
What happened? On Sept. 14, Genius Sports announced hat its largest investor, Apax Partners, was selling 20 million shares as part of a secondary offering.
Following its SPAC merger and subsequent lawsuit, IronNet is looking at bankruptcy
IronNet, a McLean, Virginia cybersecurity firm, is in the midst of financial trouble, according to a recent filing.
The company said, in the document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that it furloughed “almost all” of its employees and curtailed business operations. The filing states that IronNet has substantial doubt about its ability to continue, and unless additional funds become available, the company may need to file for bankruptcy or liquidation.
In 2021, the company went public via a SPAC merger with LGL Systems. The company has now been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Last year, a lawsuit was filed claiming that IronNet misled investors and made false promises about government contracts and revenue dollars.
READHony Looks to Raise SPAC in Hong Kong
Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital has filed to raise a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in Hong Kong, having previously failed to get traction with a similar structure in the US.
Everest Acquisition Corp. is a joint effort between Hony Partners Group and ABCI Capital, an offshore investment arm of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC).
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...
FTAC Emerald (NASDAQ:EMLD) has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with crypto fintech firm Fold at an enterprise value of $381 million. Phoenix, Arizona-based Fold provides digital banking services backed by a treasury of Bitcoin that includes FDIC-secured checking accounts as well Bitcoin trading and awards. The combined company is expected to trade on...