Wild SPAC deal-hounds howl at moonshots
SPY•SPACs are back in vogue
If there’s any lingering doubt that greed eclipses fear these days, just look at the number of blank checks investors are willing to write. Cash-stuffed shell companies are once again in vogue, finding easy purchase in markets that have eagerly bought shares in everything from rocket ships to subway sandwiches. Their wildly ambitious takeover targets and poor track record are indicative of an unhealthily voracious appetite for risk.
An unlikely resurgence in special-purpose acquisition companies is in full swing. With 143 such initial public offerings this year, the tally already surpasses last year’s total and represents 62% of all new U.S. issuers, according to LSEG data. It is more than the number of garden-variety market debuts in Europe, Hong Kong or Shanghai. The roughly $28 billion raised by SPACs also exceeds sums from each of those three regions, home to chunky listings such as defense outfit Czechoslovak Group CSG.AS, Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry 002475.SZ and humanoid-robot maker Unitree 688836.SS.
