Going Public Through Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle (SPAC)

Understanding SPAC

Special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) is regarded as a "blank check" company without any business interest or performance history, set up specifically for raising capital from the public for purposes of acquiring a target company. A company can go public through the traditional initial public offering (IPO), or through the novel option of a merger with a (SPAC). The SPAC undertakes the IPO and subsequently merges with the target company. A SPAC usually has between 18 to 24 months to acquire a company or return the funds to investors. At formation and IPO stages, the SPAC need not identify any target company but only an industry where the acquisition will take place. SPAC as an innovation officially debuted in 2003¹, although the framework was first devised in 1993 by the Investment banker David Nusssbaum assisted by lawyer David Miller, at a time when blank check companies were prohibited in the US.