SPACs are back: This year's crop of blank check companies lack celebrity sponsors, and that's likely a good thing

Yahoo

02-07-2025

Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, were big business in 2021 when everyone from lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart to politicians like Paul Ryan was investing in them. Also known as blank check companies, SPACs offered firms a back door route to becoming a public company by getting acquired by a shell company. But the 2021 trend didn't last long as more than 60% of blank check companies from that year couldn't complete a merger and had to return money to investors, giving SPACs a dodgy name in the process. Now, blank check companies have returned, but this year's crop is a different breed. The celebrities are gone, the buzz has faded, and many SPACs are coming from serial sponsors who are, well, just a little dull.
So far in 2025, 61 blank check companies have gone public, raising $12.4 billion as of June 26, though it's hard to assess their success since it typically takes months for a SPAC to complete an acquisition. This compares to just 16 SPACs for the same period last year that collected $2.5 billion, according to Dealogic. So far none of this year's deals have found a merger partner.
The $12.4 billion is the most raised by blank check companies since 2021, when the SPAC market was on fire. That year, a record 613 blank check companies went public, raising about $162.6 billion in proceeds.
SPACs are enjoying 'a bit of a revival,' said Ben Kwasnick, founder of SPAC Research. Blank check companies are on track this year to raise $25 billion, a nearly 85% drop from 2021, but a total Kwasnick thinks is more sustainable. 'There's still huge demand for the SPAC market,' he said.
A closer look shows that SPACs never really left. But their disappointing outcome cast a pall on the sector and drove many investors away. Blank check companies typically have between 18 to 24 months to buy a company, or they must return the money to investors. Roughly 39% of the Class of 2021 was able to complete a merger, or de-SPAC, according to SPAC Research. This led to many deals that initially traded well but then crashed. One of the more famous was BuzzFeed's combination with a blank check company in December 2021. BuzzFeed initially spiked to $14.77 from $10 a share and ended its first day as a public company down 11%. The stock currently trades at $2 a share.
Still, some investors of 2021 SPACs were able to get their money back. There were many blank check companies in 2021 chasing a small number of acquisitions, said Stephen Ashley, a partner with law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. When they couldn't complete a merger before their deadline, the SPACs were forced to liquidate. Some investors also redeemed their shares before the blank check company completed a merger. Both groups got their money back, Ashley said. 'A large number of these investors may be willing to consider investments in another round of SPACs with more seasoned sponsors,' he said.
Of course, some 2021 investors held onto their shares after a SPAC completed its merger with a business and ended up owning stock in the surviving entity, though many of them likely lost money. Most deals that closed in 2021 are trading below $10, the price that SPACs typically price at, said Kwasnick of SPAC Research.
'These investors will be more wary,' Pillsbury's Ashley said.
In 2024, the SEC adopted new rules for SPACs, requiring them to provide more disclosure about items including conflicts of interest, sponsor compensation, and dilution. They also limited the use of forward-looking statements by SPACs. 'The SEC clearly had concerns about the performance of SPACs for a while leading up to the rule changes, and the final rules they settled on will probably focus market participants on better and more grounded disclosure,' Ashley said.
SPACs, as we know them, have been around since at least the early 1990s. This year's class is coming from executives who are very experienced. Instead of Jay-Z pitching a cannabis blank check company or Colin Kaepernick's social justice SPAC, there's Michael Klein, a former Citigroup banker, who launched his tenth blank check company, Churchill Capital X, earlier this year. Or Gores Holdings X, the latest SPAC from private equity firm The Gores Group, which raised nearly $360 million in May.
Some of this year's SPAC crop, though, are connected to prominent individuals. This includes Renatus Tactical Acquisition, which raised $241.5 million in May and has ties to Trump Media & Technology Group. Eric Swider, CEO of Renatus, is the former head of Digital World Acquisition, the SPAC that merged with Trump Media, the parent of Truth Social, in 2024. Devin Nunes, Renatus's chairman, is a former Republican congressman and the current CEO of Trump Media. (After completing its SPAC merger in September 2024, Trump Media, during its debut, peaked at $79.38, then experienced volatility and is trading at about $18 a share.)
'It's encouraging to see serial sponsors doing most of this year's IPOs, as they're likely more realistic about their prospects than first-time sponsors are,' said Kwasnick.
The banks underwriting this year's SPACs are another big change. In 2021, bulge bracket firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley worked on many of the blank check offerings but have largely left the sector.
Citi and UBS were No. 1 and No. 2 in terms of SPAC underwriters in 2021. Neither bank completely exited the SPAC market, but both pulled back significantly. Citi worked on 113 deals in 2021, giving it bragging rights as the top SPAC banker. This year, Citi has only two SPACs to its credit. UBS has worked on one or two blank check transactions every year since 2021 when it underwrote 92 transactions. This year, UBS has only worked on one SPAC.
These rankings might still change. Goldman is wading back into the market for SPACs and is open to underwriting new deals for SPAC companies, Bloomberg reported on June 17. Goldman declined to comment.
Without the bulge bracket firms, lesser-known banks have emerged to take their place. This year's lead underwriter so far is Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm formerly led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Cantor has worked on 14 deals valued at around $3.6 billion. BTIG, the broker backed by Goldman and Blackstone, ranked second with a dozen SPAC deals valued at $2.6 billion. And in third place is Santander, the Spanish bank, which has worked on five deals this year, totaling $1.3 billion.
Not everyone is happy with the revival. 'I hate SPACs,' said one fintech banker, who has worked on mergers involving blank check companies. They pointed to payments companies like Repay, Payoneer Global, and Paysafe. Each used SPACs as a way to go public and two of the three are trading below $10. All three companies have experienced volatility with their stock prices, and all three have been up for sale recently. 'They're just not performing well,' the banker said of the payments companies. 'I've made money off [of SPACs] but I don't really understand their purpose.'
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com