Morning SPAC News Roundup: February 8, 2024

At the SPAC of Dawn

With Nevada now in the rear view, former President Donald Trump appears to now be on a glide path for a third nomination to run for president on the Republican ticket. But, according to SPACInsider readers, his chances of nailing down his SPAC deal this year are much less certain.

A healthy 63.6% majority of respondents to SPACInsider’s Let’s Settle This poll on the issue said they believe this deal is not headed for completion in 2024. That could also mean “not at all”, given that Digital World (NASDAQ:DWAC) can currently only extend its transaction deadline to September 7, 2024, at which time it will have been over three years since its 2021 IPO.

While an answer to that long-running de-SPAC question is still months away, this weekend provides another test to see if SPAC professionals are better predictors than the odds market.

With that in mind, Let’s Settle This: “Which team will cover the spread in Super Bowl LVIII?”

Kansas City Chiefs +2 or San Francisco 49ers -2?

Enter your prediction HERE.

Deals and Funding

• Sizzle (NASDAQ:SZZL) has added a $10 million PIPE to its combination with European Lithium at $10 per share. PIPE investors may also offset their commitments with open market share purchases and be paid the difference between the actual share price and $10 by the deal parties so long as they do not redeem the shares at close. Sizzle is to transfer 2,049,000 promote shares (46.8%) to these investors, issue another 1,000,000 new shares upon the closing of the business combination, and issue them 1,000,000 warrants to purchase shares in the combined company at an exercise price of $10 per share. These warrants are to expire one year after close, but investors will receive three additional shares for each share they purchase by exercising warrants. PIPE shares are subject to a one-year lock-up and the deal parties may not issue any additional shares for 60 days following close. Additionally, Critical Metals and Sizzle agreed to terminate the Equity Forward Agreement with Vellar, which was for 20 million shares at 50 cents per share.

News and Rumors

• PR: Quantum computing firm D-Wave (NYSE:QBTS) has launched a multi-year strategic partnership with Zapata AI to marry its generative AI software with its own quantum annealing capacity to discover new molecules. D-Wave combined with DPCM in August 2022 and Zapata has a pending combination with Andretti (NYSE:WNNR). Zapata already collaborates with D-Wave’s fellow quantum computing peer IonQ (NYSE:IONQ), which de-SPAC’d with dMY III in September 2021.
• Endpoints: Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) CEO Jason Kelly is set to appear before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party next Tuesday in Boston to discuss Chinese competition in biotech and national security. Ginkgo combined with Soaring Eagle in September 2021.
• CNBC: Federal prosecutors have added a money laundering charge to their case against  Michael Shvartsman, who, along with two others, has been charged with insider trading related to Digital World‘s (NASDAQ:DWAC) combination with Trump Media & Technology Group.

Closings

• Oxus (NASDAQ:OXUS) has completed its combination with Borealis Foods and the combined company is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq February 8 under the ticker “BRLS”.
• Aurora Technology (NASDAQ:ATAK) has closed its combination with robotics firm DIH Holding. The combined company’s shares and warrants are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on February 9.

Liquidations

• HH&L (NYSE:HHLA) has decided to redeem all shares and liquidate as of February 23 and will return trust funds to investors at $10.79 per share before taxes and expenses. The final day for trading HHLA shares will be February 9.

Scheduling Notes

• TG Venture (NASDAQ:TGVC) has postponed today’s vote to complete its combination with Flexi Group until 11 am ET February 22. The redemption rate for TG shares has also increased to $11.17 from the $11.15 that the SPAC earlier reported in its proxy.