SPACs are unstoppable

February 4, 2021

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The blank-check boom is proving unstoppable. Special purpose acquisition companies -- aka SPACs -- have completed nearly $26BN of share sales in January, fueling the $63BN in IPO funds raised globally so far in 2021. These figures represent 90 new blank check companies that started trading in January, generating an average of 3 deals per business day in January, and the clock is ticking for the SPACs to merge with the right company. Since the last time we wrote about this topic, there has been an even greater rush of mergers via SPAC.

Notable companies that went public via SPAC:

Online payment startup Payoneer for $3.3BN
Rocket startup Astra for $2.1BN
Private aviation services company Wheels Up for $2.1BN
EV manufacturer Faraday and Future for $3.4BN
Residential solar lender Sunlight Financial for $1.3BN
Electric vehicle charging company EVgo Services for $2.6BN
Tele-mental health care company Talkspace for $1.4BN
Digital asset marketplace Bakkt Holdings for $2BN

Despite how hot the SPAC market is, not all SPACs have done well once a merger has been completed. For example, Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Boston Red Sox and Premier League champions Liverpool, reportedly was ready to offload a minority stake to SPAC Redball Acquisition Corp, but the SPAC wasn't able to close the deal. Nevertheless, SPACs continue to be shiny, new highways to IPO, and with over 200+ SPAC companies actively looking for their perfect merger partner, we will be writing about this topic for the foreseeable future.

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Since last week, PrivCo has added:
773 Companies | 236 Funding Activities | 158 M&A Deals

Funding & Deal Highlights:

UiPath raises $750MM led by Coatue Management and Alkeon Capital
Automation Software & Internet Services • Round F • New York, NY

Booksy raises $70MM led by Cat Rock Capital
Booking Software & Internet Services • Round C • San Francisco, CA

Stilt Inc. raises $100MM from SVB Financial Group
Fintech Software & Internet Services • Debt • San Francisco, CA

ClassDojo raises $30MM
Edtech Software & Internet Services • Round C • Palo Alto, CA

Samcart LLC raises $10MM led by TTV Capital
Commercial Products & Office Supplies • Round A • Fulton, MD

AppDetex raises $12.2MM led by Baird Capital
SaaS Software & Internet Services • Round C • Boise, ID

Mediafly raises $25MM from Boathouse Capital
Analytics Software & Internet Services • Equity • Chicago, IL

Lyra Health raises $187MM led by Addition Ventures
Health Care Services • Round E • Burlingame, CA

SiteTracker raises $42MM co-led by H.I.G. Capital and Energize Ventures
Analytics Software & Internet Services • Round C • Montclair, NJ

Ownbackup raises $167.5MM led by Sapphire Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Insight Partners
Cloud Software & Internet Services • Round D • Fort Lee, NJ

Gowalla raises $4MM co-led by GV and Spark Capital
AI Software & Internet Services • Seed • Austin, TX

Motive Partners Clearlake Capital Group acquires InvestCloud
Fintech Software & Internet Services • Acquisition • Beverly Hills, CA

ABRY partners acquire CloudWave
Technology Services • AcquisitionC • Marlborough, MA

Univision Communications acquires VIX
Video Software & Internet Services • Acquisition • Miami, FL

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SPACs are unstoppable

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