Morning SPAC News Roundup: February 2, 2024
At the SPAC of Dawn
Today marks by far the busiest day in the SPAC market since the SEC dropped the new rules as it is set to host four extension votes, three completion votes and even has a potential new SPAC IPO pricing on the docket.
This flurry of activity could also help improve certain averages for SPACs overall. As noted in today’s analysis of January Corporate Events, SPACs closing in January did so on average 22.2 months after announcing their combinations. That came after monthly averages for closing deals hit 25.6 months and 27.9 in November and December 2023.
The three SPACs heading into completion votes today, however – Oxus (NASDAQ:OXUS), L Catterton Asia (NASDAQ:LCAA) and Chenghe (NASDAQ:CHEA) – announced their deals on average about 10.6 months ago.
This trio’s targets also have an average enterprise value of $1.9 billion, pushed up by L Catterton Asia’s $5.4 billion price tag for performance EV-maker Lotus Technology. This comes after the 98 SPAC deals that closed in 2023 had a median enterprise value of just $461 million and only one combination announced that year had an enterprise value above $900 million.
By mid-next week, the numbers are likely to tell the story that not only is the SPAC market alive and well in the wake of the rule change, but, in fact, business is picking up.
Deals and Funding
- Power & Digital Infrastructure II (NASDAQ:XPDB) has added a $5 million PIPE to its combination with sustainable air conditioning company Montana Technologies, which has also committed to invest $10 million into a new joint venture to market its technology in GEO Vernova systems on three continents.
News and Rumors
- PR: Public accounting firm Marcum has expanded its IPO and SPAC practice in Asia with the opening of a new 50-person MarcumAsia office in Hong Kong.
Liquidations and Reversals
- PepperLime Health Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:PEPL) had earlier announced its intention to liquidate but it is now considering other options and will provide an update in the coming days.
Scheduling Notes
- Arrowroot Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:ARRW) has postponed its morning extension vote to 4:30 pm ET this afternoon.