Return of the SPAC: What's Different This Time
SPACs are back. The numbers make it hard to argue otherwise. In Episode 1 of their two-part series, Embark's Nicole Harger and Adam Olsen unpack what's driving the resurgence, what went wrong in 2021, and what CFOs and finance leaders actually need to know before they consider this path.
In this episode:
- What a SPAC is and how the three-phase lifecycle actually works, from IPO to business combination
- The full equity instrument landscape: founder shares, warrants, PIPE financing, and earnout arrangements, and why the headline deal value is never the complete picture
- Why the 2020-2021 SPAC boom collapsed, and how the SEC's 2024 rules changed the calculus
- What's fueling the current resurgence and why PE-backed companies are at the center of it
- SPAC vs. traditional IPO: the real trade-offs on speed, valuation certainty, cost structure, and projections
- The three most common mistakes companies make going into a de-SPAC, including the one that shows up in almost every SEC filing review
- Why public company readiness isn't a post-closing project, and what that preparation actually requires
Episode 2 goes deep on the accounting and reporting mechanics. If you're close to a de-SPAC transaction or think you might be, it's worth your time.