At the SPAC of Dawn
Good morning! Watch this space moving forward as a roundup of evening filings as well as news nuggets to nibble on beside your morning coffee.
“The show must go on!” has been a theme of sorts lately for the SPAC market navigating a tough crowd of macro headwinds.
All eyes have been on BowX‘s de-SPAC WeWork (NYSE:WE) ever since it missed a debt payment earlier this month. But, it’s move yesterday to make permanent its appointment of David Tolley as CEO seemed to indicate it would double down on his vision to renegotiate all leases the massive tenant currently is a party to and box up underperforming locations.
Few business models were poised to be more sensitive to the pandemic and its aftermath than flexible office spaces, and yet the pioneer of the concept is still trucking at least for now.
The risks of that business model still pale in comparison to what companies seated in a warzone are facing. And yet, Israel Acquisitions Corp. (NASDAQ:ISRL) still announced a letter of intent with Tel Aviv-based Pomvom (TA:PMVM) into this news environment without needing such a move to secure an extension or other move.
At an earlier stage of the SPAC process, Iron Horse Acquisition Corp. withdrew its proposed S-1 yesterday, but already says it will be back. This will be a new submission as its last S-1 was abandoned in September, but like many others in this business, its getting back on that horse.
News and Rumors
- JDSUPRA: In a blow to 26 Capital Acquisition Corp., a Delaware court declined to grant it specific performance in reviewing its failed combination with Okada Manila casino – a case containing “a complicated and cinematically wacky set of facts”. The trial does have the potential ramifications for other international SPAC deals as the court here noted its reluctance to rely on a foreign court to oversee the portions of this case in its jurisdiction.
- Bloomberg: Hydrow Inc., a fitness company that counts NFL star Travis Kelce and growth equity firm L Catterton among its investors, is in talks to acquire smaller rival Cityrow. Hydrow previously discussed merging with Sandbridge X2 Corp., but those talks fell apart.
- Home Healthcare News: Sharecare Inc. (NASDAQ:SHCR) confirmed last week that it had received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from Claritas Capital. Sharecare became a publicly listed company in June 2021 after combining with Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp.
Scheduling Notes
- ExcelFin Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:XFIN) announced that its extension meeting, originally scheduled for October 18, is being adjourned to October 20.
- TortoiseEcofin Acquisition Corp. III (NYSE:TRTL), which announced a postponement of its extension meeting to October 19 yesterday, has changed its contribution commitment to $0.015 per share each month from $0.01 per share or a maximum of $200,000.
Columbus Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:COLAU) announced the pricing of its $60 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “COLAU”, Thursday, January 23, 2025. The new SPAC intends to conduct a broad search for a target company without a focus on any particular industry or geography. Columbus’ sponsor...
Silver Pegasus Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:SPEGU) has filed for a $150 million SPAC with Roth Capital Partners underwriting the offering. The new SPAC is laser-focused on finding a semiconductor or “systems solutions” target, which is an intriguing space given that the sector has been in the crosshairs of trade restrictions by nearly all countries involved. That...
At the SPAC of Dawn Space de-SPACs have been among the big winners from the market’s initial parsing of the Trump administration 2.0’s policy priorities, with Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) gaining +30%, Redwire (NYSE:RDW) +51% and Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) +23.9%. Redwire got the double boost of Trump’s bullish words on space and also the announcement that...
Iron Horse Acquisitions Corp. II has filed for a $250 million SPAC with D. Boral Capital underwriting under its new name. D. Boral emerged in November from a messy dispute at the top of investment bank EF Hutton that was concluded with Joseph Rallo taking the EF Hutton trademark and departing the firm while David...
At the SPAC of Dawn This shortened trading week could be a rocky one as the market takes in the first wave of initiatives out of the new US administration and will have what are technically the first Trump 2.0 jobs numbers released on Thursday. It should be somewhat quieter for SPACs working through their...