Global issues of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC, for its acronym in English) have marked their highest historical record, a few days before the end of 2021, registering a total of 607 placements, with a raised amount of 161,234 million dollars, shows data from Spac Data.
The figure registered this year is the highest since 2003 and when compared to 2020 it reflects an increase of 144.75% compared to the 248 public offerings and 93% higher in terms of the total amount raised by 83.386 million dollars.
While on a global scale the progress in SPAC Public Offerings continued, in Mexico the market remained closed and 2021 was another year without any launch of this type of investment instrument.
Although it is a financial instrument with just four years of being launched in the country, only two companies have been listed under this figure in the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
Vista Oil & Gas, a firm in the energy sector, owned by businessman Miguel Galuccio Coronado, pioneered the Mexican market for SPAC, debuting on August 11, 2017 with an offering that raised $ 650 million.
A year later, the private equity fund Promecap, owned by businessman Fernando Chico Pardo, entered the market and placed the second vehicle of its kind.
So far it is the second and last SPAC listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange, which debuted in the market with 5,578 million pesos (300 million dollars).
However, Promecap Acquisition Company merged with Grupo Acosta Verde, a shopping center developer, which began trading on the BMV in 2020.
Record
Even if the listings of these investment vehicles for this year are compared with those of 2019, a year without a pandemic, the growth is higher, since at that time 59 placements were reported for 13.6 billion dollars.
Jason Draho, leader of Asset Allocation in the Americas at UBS, explained that after the cooling that this market had in the second quarter of the year, the offer has recovered and everything indicates that the activity will continue to grow by 2022.
The above after half of the SPACs were listed in the first quarter of 2021, which represented almost 60% of the capital raised. However, this pace was unsustainable, as over 1,000 new launches and a gross of around $ 350 billion were projected for the entire year.
This forecast was not reached because the number of new SPACs decreased dramatically in April (impacted, in part, by pressure from the SEC) and rose to a higher level in the second half of the year, with an average of 40 listings per month.
“We hope that SPACs will continue to be a durable vehicle in the capital markets as they continue to mature,” said Jason Draho, after advising investors to be well informed about these types of instruments before investing in them.
Good prospects
The UBS specialist considered that the good prospects for this global capital market is due to the fact that the SPAC mergers continue to be a popular way for private companies to go public, especially those in the technology sector. “This supports the expectation that SPACs will continue to be an integral part of the equity markets,” he said.
Another point highlighted by the UBS specialist is that the SPAC market has continued to institutionalize, which means that there is still a long way to go before they reach a more mature stage.
More vigilance
Perrie M. Weiner, a partner at the law firm Baker & McKenzie, wrote that despite the increased scrutiny or regulation that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to place among the SPAC These remain an attractive option for listing companies on the Stock Market.
“Over the past twelve months, the SEC has strengthened oversight of special-purpose acquisition companies in response to allegations of fraud, conflicts of interest, and inappropriate shareholder disclosures in connection with M&A transactions,” it stated. in an analysis.
Weimer wrote that securities class action lawsuits directed at SPACs have increased this year as 25 lawsuits have been documented, compared to 10 filed between 2019 and 2020.
Even with this, emissions did not stop in the last part of 2021, which was the busiest.
In fact, former US President Donald Trump joined this SPAC fever, with the offer of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, to make its social platform Trump Media & Technology Group public, just days after the SEC urged them. figures to disclose conflicts of interest, which again indicates the intention of the Commission to regulate the world of SPACs.
“Clearly, the increased risk of SEC scrutiny and judgment has not deterred market participants from engaging in transactions. In November, NBA star Kevin Durant launched a $ 200 million offer, making him the latest celebrity to get into the SPAC craze, ”said the Baker & McKenzie partner.
The specialist reiterated that in the face of increased surveillance by the SEC, it is imperative that SPACs, their sponsors and target companies implement measures to reduce the risk of litigation and avoid scrutiny by the United States regulatory authority.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx