Someone on Wall Street ought to erect a statue to Henry Villard.
Villard made the discovery that if you don’t tell investors how you’re going to spend their money, they get more eager, not less.
Seeking to raise several millions of dollars in capital to take over a company but unwilling to reveal his target for fear of driving its price beyond his reach, Villard sent out a prospectus for a “blind pool,” stating that he would reveal “the exact nature” of his plans 90 days hence.
Perhaps fueling the hype are.press reports that focus on a few successful, high-visibility SPACs.
While this last one year has been fraught with uncertainty for businesses across the world, one part of the economy that has remained positive is the stock markets. Against this backdrop, a phenomenon that has caught the attention of the investment segment are Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). US-listed SPACs raised more than $80 billion in 2020, compared to $13 billion in 2019, and the fund-raising figures in the first two months of 2021 continue to be robust. While the SPAC structure is similar to that of traditional blank-check companies , there are some technical differences between the two and SPAC regulations provide more flexibility. The way a SPAC structure starts is that a reputed management team with relevant industry experience or investment management expertise sets up a vehicle, either in the US or in a non-US jurisdiction (such as the Cayman Islands) by contributing a small amount of capital as consideration for Founder Shares, which generally end up co
Public Benefit Corporations are Going Public Tuesday, March 2, 2021
As society increasingly expects corporations, large and small, to generate positive social impact alongside profits, many entrepreneurs and executives are incorporating their companies as, or converting to, Public Benefit Corporations (“PBCs”). As discussed in our articles for
VC Experts “Can I Raise Venture Capital as a PBC?” and “What are My Exit Options as a PBC?” a PBC is a legal corporate form created by the state of Delaware in 2013 that, among other things, codifies a company’s social mission. Most significantly, a PBC allows a board of directors to make business decisions based not just on the economic interest of the corporation’s shareholders (as required by the traditional C-Corporation corporate form), but based also on the PBC’s mission, which may focus on the interests of those materially affected by the corporation’s conduct, including employees, customers, communiti
Hong Kong is exploring whether to allow Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC) to list in the Asian financial hub, according to a government statement, indicating that a largely U.S. phenomenon could be going global.