The great SPAC crash is closing out the year in dramatic fashion as more shareholders prepare to cash out of the speculative-investing industry for good.
At least 80 special-purpose acquisition companies, which have raised $24 billion in total, face a wall of investor meetings that will give clients the chance to exit ahead of a new US tax that could hurt their returns. At least 32 SPACs holding roughly $18 billion are looking to close up shop and return capital over the coming 2 1/2 weeks, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The latest headache for the blank-check industry is a potential 1% excise levy that could hit stock repurchases and buybacks as part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Meanwhile, soaring interest rates and falling share prices are darkening the climate for acquisitions and mergers — and putting companies with weak balance sheets in danger.
