I didn't recognize the term "SPAC", so for the benefit of others reading this thread, I looked it up. (Clicking through, there are also references in the comments on Techdirt.)
A SPAC, or specified purpose acquisition company, is an asset-free company that lists on the public market with the intention of using the money raised in the IPO to invest in or acquire companies operating in a specified industry.
Specified Purpose Acquisition Companies, also known as SPACs, have recently taken the securities world by storm as the latest vehicle to launch small but promising private companies into the public sector via initial public offerings or “IPOs.” Due in part to the protection provided investors and the increased interest in hedge funds, SPACs are increasingly becoming the structure of choice for investors in making public offerings.
A SPAC is a blank check company, or newly-formed company without any business operations, formed for the purpose of implementing a merger, asset acquisition or similar business combination. This structure provides the target company with immediate capital raised through an IPO, an advantage over the more typical reverse merger transaction.
Shells, SPACs, Reverse Acquisitions and Reverse or "Backdoor" IPOs: As the search for equity capital for development- stage entities intensifies, so the collective imagination of managers and financial intermediaries swells to meet the challenge. One of the newer and occasionally popular techniques for raising money is the so-called shell game. The trick is to organize a shell corporation-no assets, no business-and take it public. Because of the unfortunate connotations of the term "shell" in the financial arena, sponsors have developed a more glamorous and respectable label-Specified Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs. The sole purpose of a Shell/SPAC offering is to raise a relatively modest amount of money and, more importantly, to get a number of shares outstanding in the hands of the public.
