The market for SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, is “shattering all previous records,” according to Craig Clay, President of Global Capital Markets for Donnelley Financial Solutions. In a September 16th webinar hosted by J. P. Morgan, Clay noted that as of mid-September, 95 SPACs with a valuation of approximately $35 billion (£25 billion) had priced year to date. What’s more, 43 other SPACs are currently on file with the SEC, pending pricing. This stands in dramatic contrast to 2019, when just 59 SPACs were priced during the full 12-month period.
Clay—who was joined by three J. P. Morgan directors, as well as a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman—explained the fundamentals of SPACs and suggested why these alternatives to traditional IPOs were gaining in popularity. Among the reasons for their success, the panellists agreed, is the increasing quality of companies going public this way, as well as the newfound willingness of bulge-bracket banks and other top-tier investors to participate in these transactions.
Find out more about SPACs and the additional takeaways from the webinar.