Tuesday, March 2, 2021

SPACs Explode

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have grown dramatically in the past year and a half. The sole purpose of an SPAC is to go public, with the funds raised in the IPO being used to purchase a private company. In 2013, there were 10 SPAC IPOs. This number grew to 248 in 2020. But 2021 is a banner year for SPACs as the growth trend has accelerated. So far this year, there have been over 200 SPACs. During the last week of February, 50 SPACs filed preliminary paperwork for an IPO, implying an annual pace of about 2,000 per year. In fact, today there were 15 SPAC IPOs.