What Is Spec Fund?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

A

special purpose acquisition company

is formed to raise money through an initial public offering to buy another company. … Investors in SPACs can range from well-known private equity funds to the general public. SPACs have two years to complete an acquisition or they must return their funds to investors.

Are SPACs a good investment?

SPAC investing has

been less profitable for individual investors

. Most SPACs underperform the stock market and eventually fall below the IPO price. Given SPAC’s poor track record, most investors should be wary of investing in them, unless they focus their investing on pre-acquisition SPACs.

How do SPACs work?

How Are SPACs Used? SPACs typically

use the funds they’ve raised to acquire an existing, but privately held, company

. They then merge with that target, which allows the target to go public while avoiding the much longer IPO process.

What is the purpose of a SPAC?

A SPAC raises capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of

acquiring an existing operating company

. Subsequently, an operating company can merge with (or be acquired by) the publicly traded SPAC and become a listed company in lieu of executing its own IPO.

What is a SPAC vs IPO?

With a SPAC, you

form a shell company that exists only on paper

. The company has a management team, a bank account, some startup funding and little else. You then go through a relatively traditional IPO process, in which the blank check company sells shares to raise capital.

Can you lose money in a SPAC?

Matthew Frankel: A lot of people think of a SPAC as kind of

a no lose investment

. The reason being, if you buy a SPAC and they can’t find any type of business to acquire, investors get their money back after a certain amount of time. Usually it’s about two years, in some cases 18 months or so.

Why are SPACs so popular right now?

The SPAC model has become popular because

“in some ways it is fulfilling a need” for both firms going public and investors

,” Roussanov continued. … Firms filing for IPOs are only allowed to report historical financial performance, but with startups “it’s all a bet on the future,” Drechsler said.

What is wrong with SPACs?

SPACs have

a poor record of delivering returns

. Of 107 that have gone public since 2015 and executed deals, the average return on their common stock has been a loss of 1.4%, according to Renaissance Capital, a research and investment-management firm.

Can SPACs go below $10?


It’s not very common for SPACs to trade below $10

, especially since SPACs have a redemption feature that allows investors to exchange their shares for $10 plus interest in many cases. That means that SPACs trading below $10 offer modest arbitrage opportunities.

What are the best SPACs?

  • ACE Convergence Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: ACEV) …
  • Forest Road Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FRX) …
  • Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SEAH) …
  • Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: PSAC) …
  • Altimeter Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: AGC)

Should I buy SPAC before merger?


You don’t need to wait until the merger is complete

. You can buy the SPAC and at the time of the merger’s finalization, the ticker symbol and the shares in your account will be converted automatically. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t need to wait until the ticker symbol’s changing. You can invest in the units.

What happens to SPAC price after merger?

At merger time,

SPAC shares maintain their $10 nominal value

. But their real value soon drops due to dilution when the merger occurs. For all shareholders, dilution arises from paying the sponsor’s fee in shares (called the “promote,” often about 20% of the equity).

Are SPACs good or bad?

There have been $166 billion in SPAC-led deals in 2021, while 2020 SPACs raised a record $73 billion in 2020. … Some say the rise of SPACs is an example of the democratization of early-stage investing. Others warn SPACs are a bad deal for retail investors.

Is SPAC better than IPO?

The main advantages of going public with a SPAC merger over an IPO are:

Faster execution than an IPO

: A SPAC merger usually occurs in 3–6 months on average, while an IPO usually takes 12–18 months.

What are the pros and cons of an IPO?

  • 1) Cost. No, the transition to an IPO is not a cheap one. …
  • 2) Financial Reporting. Taking a company public also makes much of that company’s information and data public. …
  • 3) Distractions Caused by the IPO Process. …
  • 4) Investor Appetite. …
  • The Benefits of Going Public.

Why is SPAC faster than IPO?

As compared to traditional IPOs, SPAC IPOs can be significantly quicker.

Due to its lack of fundamental operation

, both financial statements and prospectus filed during a SPAC IPO are significantly shorter and can be prepared in a matter of weeks (compared to months for a traditional IPO).

Ahmed Ali
Author
Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali is a financial analyst with over 15 years of experience in the finance industry. He has worked for major banks and investment firms, and has a wealth of knowledge on investing, real estate, and tax planning. Ahmed is also an advocate for financial literacy and education.