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A Primer On SPACs
Apr. 25, 2018 11 07 AM ET | HCAC.U | 39 Comments | 29 Likes
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Summary
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are an underappreciated asset class and present
compelling risk/reward opportunities.
It's important to understand the dynamics at work as a SPAC seeks an acquisition target.
Handicapping a SPAC's set of potential outcomes is imperative for evaluating an investment.
This article is intended as an introduction to investing in SPACs (special purpose acquisition
companies). SPACs are a compelling investment vehicle, with features that are both enticing and
opaque. Our research focuses on the structural elements of SPACs that create investment
opportunities, as well as the specifics of SPAC transaction details which allow for the handicapping
of outcomes for individual SPACs. My goal is to broaden the base of investors who are interested in
SPACs and to facilitate easier evaluation of the securities available under this umbrella.
I hope to explore a number of lenses through which to view the securities within the SPAC universe,
as well as some ways to filter the opportunity set in ways that match one's own investment
objectives. I will assume that readers have basic familiarity with SPACs' operational objective of
using the proceeds raised at IPO to make an acquisition, as well as with SPAC structure and features
such as the trust account, shareholder redemptions, and the SPAC IPO mechanism of offering units
comprised of common equity and one or more derivative securities. To learn more about SPACs in
general, readers can visit the SPAC Research FAQ.
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SPAC Components
The current generation of SPACs sells units for $10.00 each at IPO. Since SPAC unit offerings
generally contain both common stock and one or more derivative securities (usually out-of-the-
money warrants and/or rights that convert into common equity upon consummation of a business
combination), there are multiple investment opportunities to evaluate once the offering is
completed. Each SPAC has different terms depending on what the market is willing to purchase
from the sponsor at IPO, but a frequent offering structure is a unit comprised of one common share
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and 1/2 or 1/3 warrant to purchase one full share at a strike price of $11.50. Only the units will trade
at the time of the IPO, but the components will typically separate for individual trading within 52
days after the offering.
Yield-focused investors will find an interesting alternative to Treasuries in SPAC common stock that
is linked to a secure trust account. SPACs are structured such that the trust account contains at
least $10.00 per public share. SPAC common shares often trade at a discount to their eventual per
share cash redemption value. While liquidity may be limited in the open market, the defined
liquidation term of SPAC common equity can provide for a relatively attractive yield with very low
risk that carries a free option to own a SPAC's future acquisition target. The result is very similar to a
zero coupon bond, often with higher rates of return than Treasuries.
More aggressive investors will find fascinating opportunities in SPAC warrants, almost all of which
carry a five year term after any merger has been consummated. SPAC warrants, which will expire
worthless if the SPAC can't close a business combination, are thus a binary proposition on a five
year warrant on a hypothetical future company. The speculative nature of this situation lends itself
to wildly inefficient price swings. Institutional capital often eschews securities with a material risk of
going to zero, which frequently contributes to compelling values.
Hypothetically, a five-year warrant with an exercise price of $11.50 on a common stock worth $10
per share might be worth $1.60. Pre-deal warrant pricing is often so far below this level that implied
value calculations suggest the market is putting the odds of a completed transaction that doesn't
bury the common equity at well below 50%. While there have been plenty of SPAC deals struck that
destroyed shareholder value after closing, there have only been two SPACs that wound up and
liquidated since January 2017, as compared with 19 which have completed a business combination.
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SPACs have a mixed reputation, in part because of how frequently sponsors have executed deals
that appear to depreciate rapidly from an approximately $10 cash in trust redemption value. Any
analysis of the universe of SPAC returns over time will appear lackluster when compared against the
cash in trust benchmark. However, moderately careful analysis can make it fairly straightforward to
avoid some of the landmines that occur in a subset of SPAC deals. In fact, following a simple
quantitative strategy of buying all SPAC units with IPOs between 2015-17 and liquidating the
components at the time of a business combination (or redeeming common shares for cash in trust)
would have averaged an annualized 8.35% return. Not bad for an asset with essentially zero
principal risk!
Source: SPAC Research database; past performance does not guarantee future results.
While the units' downside is protected by the fact that shareholders can always redeem their
common shares for cash in lieu of shares in the new company, much of the upside comes from the
performance of the warrants included in SPAC units from IPO. Once an actual acquisition target is
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presented and a path towards closing a deal appears, warrant valuations often increase dramatically.
This table shows the average warrant "pop" on the day-of announcement for deals that went on to
be completed within the last few years to be 54.69% (with further average appreciation of 46.41%
between announcement and deal closing).
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Source: SPAC Research database; past performance does not guarantee future results.
SPAC Management
SPACs are, at their core, a blank check. The capital stored in a SPAC's trust account can only be
accessed to fund shareholder redemptions or to fund a business combination that has been
approved either explicitly (by shareholder vote) or implicitly (by tender offer) by a majority of
common shareholders. Handing a blank check of a few hundred million dollars over to a
management team is, on its face, a significant risk. That risk is mitigated for common shareholders
by the redemption mechanism which allows shareholders to redeem their shares for a pro rata
portion of cash in the trust account if they don't like the acquisition target. However, any investment
in a pre-deal SPAC is ultimately an investment in the management team in charge of finding and
executing a business combination. This holds especially true for an investment in warrants or rights,
whose value is derivative upon a SPAC's future acquisition target and will expire worthless at the end
of a SPAC's charter if no business combination can be consummated.
It's always useful to spend some time evaluating a SPAC's management team. Read through the
track record and bios of the SPAC's officer roster. Do they have a history allocating capital at scale?
Do they have a history securing financing? Do they have experience managing public companies?
What is their background and performance in the area in which the SPAC is searching for a business
combination? Sponsors are also generally happy to discuss their approach if you call and ask
sensible questions.
It is also worthwhile to review any history a SPAC's sponsor has with previous SPAC transactions.
You can gain valuable insight into its ability to source and finance a credible deal in the SPAC format.
Some serial SPAC sponsors have a history of acquiring successful companies that continue to
accrete over time, while others have a history of finding deals that barely secure enough financing to
close and whose common stock has cratered almost immediately after closing.
In the graphic below, you can see the SPAC Research company page on Hennessy Capital
Acquisition III (NYSEMKT:HCAC.U). Daniel Hennessy led two successful previous SPACs -- Blue Bird
Corp. (NASDAQ:BLBD) and Daseke (NASDAQ:DSKE) -- and operated a middle market private equity
firm for over 25 years. He has board experience in public companies and in the industrial &
infrastructure sectors in which HCAC is seeking an acquisition. The management team he is working
with has mostly been together since their first SPAC in 2013. All of this is useful information when
considering an investment in a SPAC that has not yet announced a business combination.
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SPAC merger agreements generally carry various closing conditions, many of which are perfunctory
in nature or guard against any material adverse change in the financial condition of parties to the
agreement. In practice, the minimum cash condition often functions as the primary deal hurdle for
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sponsors to overcome in order to get a deal over the finish line. Since most SPAC common
shareholders are also warrantholders, they are likely to vote in favor of any reasonable business
combination to protect the value of their warrant position even if they plan to redeem their common
shares for cash (shareholders are allowed to vote in favor of a deal and still redeem their shares for
cash). Consequently, when selling the deal to prospective investors it is important for a sponsor to
get common equity into the hands of long-term holders who will not redeem for cash and who buy
into the ultimate vision of the acquisition target. Sponsors may have a tough time selling a
prospective deal to the buy side without certainty as to whether or not the deal will close.
SPAC sponsors sometimes arrange for investors to backstop shareholder redemptions from the
trust account up to a certain threshold, materially improving the SPAC's prospects for getting a deal
over the finish line. Paying attention to backstop, subscription or PIPE commitments (especially
relative to a deal's minimum cash condition) can be critical for assessing a SPAC's prospects for
securing enough capital to ensure closing of its business combination. In the example below, Pacific
Special Acquisition Rights (PAACR - each representing the right to receive 1/10 common share upon
consummation of a business combination) hovered in the $0.45 area for months after the
announcement of their merger with Borqs Technologies (NASDAQ:BRQS), an IoT and connected
devices provider.
The market correctly assessed that the deal as written was insufficient to convince enough
shareholders to retain shares and meet the $24mm minimum cash condition required to close. On
May 12, 2017, the Sponsors re-cut the deal and announced a backstop agreement, ensuring the
availability of $24mm in cash after shareholder redemptions, after which the rights traded up to the
$0.60 area. It's worth noting the rights essentially predicted the post-merger valuation, with shares
settling around $6.00 in the weeks following consummation of the business combination.
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Source: Barchart.
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Disclosure: I am/we are long HCAC.U. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving
compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: Author is long HCAC/W, DSKE, DSKEW, BRQSW. Author may maintain positions in securities from
within the SPAC performance tables shown above.
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the SPAC IPO and the overall market is in distress like in 2008 -> there were situations, where the
stock was trading at 30% discount to the cash in escrow, i.e. USD7 pre-merger).
The sponsors are paying for the upside optionality embedded in this structure and are getting
leveraged exposure to a successful close of the acquisition in exchange (they typically get 20%
of the final SPAC value for putting 5% or so sponsor capital at risk). Their 5% go to zero, if an
acquisition does not close and you recover the cash+interest, as a SPAC investor. The sponsors
take the full acquisition risk on your behalf, because they have a team expected to be strong
enough / connected enough in the resp. space to do so.
After the merger, this is a normal stock, with its up and downs and can go bust or become a very
successful company, like the following example: www.thestreet.com/...
Reply Like (2)
dumpsterdiva 16 May 2020
Comments (396)
You lose money if you do not redeem, loans , and if they do not gate 100 % in trust.
I have never lost buying and redeeming a SPAC but comprehend that author is okay with 80% set
aside and half warrant which is not prudent but foolish.
Easier for me to answer directly
Thank you for this thoughtfully written article. One obvious question... how do we lose money
here on the stock?
I understand that the warrants can go to $0 if no deal is done, but in this scenario the
shareholders of the stock get back their $10.0, right? Incorrect we get more than 10. Unit is
bought and investors sell warrants to lower initially cost base. Prior to merger vote to redeem
their 10 which was held in trust for no lower than 10.20 and 12.50 high range.
The scenario I can think of is if the value of the business they buy is worth less than 20% more
than the price they're paying (not enough to offset the 20% sponsor equity dilution). Incorrect
you do not buy investment in black cheque on what they buy but the terms you get while they are
organizing finance locating business.
However, the Sponsor is incentivized to not do this because then the warrants they paid for also
go to $0.00, right? Not for those reasons but their time and skin in the game is the reason most
close. 2 SPACs this quarter will probably redeem so authors stats from 2017 do not reflect
present times.
So.. how does one lose money on the stock?
(my apologies if this was already answered in the article, if so, please point me to the section) If
spac doesn't gate 100% of money, interpersonal loans, promissory notes, and not redeeming.
Reply Like (1)
ejbarraza 16 Mar. 2019
Comments (139)
Thanks for the article
Reply Like
just a guy in the know 20 Mar. 2019
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Comments (5)
I represent a leading authority in the SPAC IPO space. We have been in the business for over a
decade. I deal with institutional investors, and bring institutionally structured investments to the
HNW and accredited investor space. Feel free to message me with any questions you may have
and i will do my best to respond in a timely fashion. Cheers.
Reply Like (3)
lydell954 17 Jan. 2021
Comments (21)
@just a guy in the know Hopefully you are still monitoring responses. I get confused as to the
value of the warrant, once it has separated from the unit. I understand if the Unit was one
common, one warrant that the separate warrant is a "full warrant". If the Unit was one common,
1/2 warrant, when that warrant separates into it's own ticker, am I buying a full warrant at that
time (meaning the market has adj the price to fully reflect a full warrant, not just 1/2 of one).
thanks
Reply Like
TheSandman 19 May 2018
Marketplace
Comments (208)
How is it possible that I missed this article? Thanks for the insight.
Reply Like (2)
Bback 27 Apr. 2018
Premium Marketplace
Comments (240)
As part of the learning experience, Jensyn Acquistion Corp (JSYNW-U) down 73% today. Unfortunately, I
own it. I guess this is a different kind of pop.
Reply Like
dumpsterdiva 16 May 2020
Comments (396)
When does the learning kick in?
Buy Jensyn Acquistion Corp (JSYNW-U) for 10
Sell warrant for 1-4 premerger
Stock traded at min 12.50 prior to merger so no need to request or wait for redemption.
Unclear why still holding after down 73% and more unclear was your mindset as I recall min being
was a 60% profit prior to vote.
Reply Like (1)
Bback 27 Apr. 2018
Premium Marketplace
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Comments (240)
Thank you for the article, the research you do, the comments you make and the link to the FAQ.
I have a few basic questions. I bought some units at some IPOs but found out that it was very costly to
break them up into shares and derivatives. Do you buy units or shares/warrants/rights?
If I buy units and want to redeem, I guess I loose my warrants that are part of the units? Can I redeem
just shares or must be units?
In your tables above, why is there so many empty spaces? How should we interpret that? For example,
you say you are long DSKE but I do not see DSKE in table?
I did not see any warrants going to zero in the table that may influence the return on invested warrants?
I am surprised that you are not long more than the few names you disclosed. Is that correct?
Reply Like
dumpsterdiva 16 May 2020
Comments (396)
I buy units and split is free. If it is as costly as you say then wait 60 days and buy the parts you
wish to buy.
If you buy units and redeem units will need to be split and you get to keep warrants. Unless there
is a warrant included in redemption.
I did not read his table but comprehend he bought a spac that now merged and he owns that
ticker from the merger
Warrants are provided as a thank you kicker and a way to lower cost base.
I am surprised he is not paid by companies and think he needs to change his business model.
Keep or convert subscription model then add and convert to $50k in unit promotional model per
SPAC.
Reply Like (1)
silvertonlee 27 Feb. 2021
Premium
Comments (26)
@dumpsterdiva If I don't voluntarily ask my broker to split, do you know when does the unit split
itself automatically? Is it at the time of merger?
Reply Like
dumpsterdiva 28 Feb. 2021
Comments (396)
@silvertonlee
Your correct at the merger they will split automatically without instructions to broker.
Reply Like
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A Primer On SPACs | Seeking Alpha
company could potentially make a claim on the trust. However, it should be noted that in any
merger agreement with a SPAC, the lawyers always make waiving this claim a condition of the
merger agreement. If there is a SPAC somewhere out there that did not get this waiver during the
merger process, well, then they have really bad lawyers. Having said all that, I would say it's a
very low probability the trust account could be compromised.
Reply Like (3)
Anthony Blundetto 27 Apr. 2018
Comments (10)
I was also thinking that it's a very low probability that claims could be made against the trust. But
it certainly isn't 0.0%. Thanks for the response.
Seems like a decent strategy, but these securities are very illiquid and difficult to trade. That's the
only problem with the strategy that I can see. Also, my broker says they are not marginable, so it
affects the buying power in my account.
Reply Like (4)
SPACInsider 01 May 2018
Comments (3)
The lack of liquidity is exactly why they are not marginable which is unfortunate since from an
investment standpoint, SPACs are quite safe (you can redeem for the full purchase price).
However, when a bank evaluates a security for marginability, the main factors it considers are
market cap (bigger is better), whether the stock trades above $5.00, and liquidity. For liquidity,
they look at a worst case scenario and if a stock tanks - how long will it take to liquidate a
position so that a bank can minimize it's losses? Unfortunately, as you already know, SPACs do
not trade until announcement. It's a case of sit and wait. However, prior to the financial crisis in
2008, using leverage on SPAC positions was a common and very successful strategy. Now that
we're in the era of Trump...who knows, maybe an easing of current leverage requirements is back
in the cards?
Reply Like (4)
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