PWP Forward Acquisition Corp. I (FRW) Files to Liquidate Early by Vote

PWP Forward Acquisition Corp. I (NASDAQ: FRW) filed a proxy this afternoon to seek shareholder approval to liquidate early.

PWP Forward’s current completion deadline isn’t until March 12, 2023, but today’s filing is asking shareholders to approve an amendment that would allow the company to redeem all of its outstanding public shares and liquidate before December 31, 2022. If the SPAC is unable to secure the vote, it will be automatically terminated on its completion deadline date.

Similar to a handful of other SPACs that are also looking to amend their deadline to liquidate early, PWP Forward’s management team conducted a thorough search for the right target that would meet their investment criteria, but ultimately decided that it’d be best to return capital to its shareholders due to existing market conditions.

FRW now intends to seek a favorable vote from stockholders at a special meeting which is expected be held at some point later this year. As part of that process, shareholders will have the opportunity to submit their shares for redemption, subject to the provisions of the SPAC’s charter. As of September 30, 2022, FRW held $212,873,704 in its trust and the company expects to return approximately $10.03 per public share to redeeming stockholders, including interest.

PWP Forward is the ninth such SPAC to hold a shareholder vote to move up their completion deadline to liquidate early, but it is anticipated that other SPACs will follow suit. A total of 40 SPACs have announced a liquidation this year, 31 of which have already completed their liquidations to-date.

The SPAC announced the pricing of its $200 million IPO in March 2021 and hoped to combine with a women-led business with strong ESG principles and services directed towards women.