Stikeman Elliott LLP Advises On The First Canadian SPAC IPO

Stikeman Elliott LLP has the distinction of acting as legal adviser to the first ever IPO of a Canadian SPAC to date. A Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation (a SPAC) is a publicly-traded shell company that has as its primary purpose the acquisition of one or more companies. SPACs raise money from the public and use those funds to acquire one or more operating companies. While the TSX adopted specific rules to permit for the listing of SPACs in 2008, no SPACs had been launched in Canada until this month.

Generally, a SPAC is founded by a sponsor (or founder) with the credibility and expertise to raise funds and identify a promising operating business. The founder (together, if desired, with some or all of the directors or officers of the SPAC) holds 100% ownership of the SPAC before its IPO and establishes the management team of the SPAC.