At the SPAC of Dawn
Good morning! Watch this space moving forward as a roundup of evening filings as well as news nuggets you to nibble on beside your morning coffee.
So far, 2023 is shaping up to the be year of the ouster from the House floor to the C-suites of SPACs. Of course, not all defenestrations are the same.
More than a dozen sponsors have sold out their spots at the top of SPACs so far this year, generally gaining compensation for sunk costs and keeping some piece of the potential upside. As such, it may still be a better gig than the thankless job of speaker of the House.
But, as noted in the news links below, former Lordstown CEO Steve Burns may have found an even more fruitful post-script to being shown the door.
Burns was pushed out in June 2021 following a scandal around inflated order numbers the company had made during its de-SPAC process with DiamondPeak. Stock sales by management at this time raised further eyebrows, and Burns reportedly was able to sell about $60 million in stock including 12,457,306 shares just before Lordstown’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Now bankrupt, who should place the winning bid for Lordstown’s assets but Burns himself at a cool $10 million. There is some question as to what Burns will be acquiring as Lordstown EV pickups never made it to mass production and it the company sold its factory in May 2022, but at any rate, the former founder is back on top.
Latest Liquidations and Reversals
- BioPlus Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:BIOS) intends to liquidate as soon as practicable after October 4, 2023, after terminating their agreement with Avertix Medical, Inc.
- Home Plate Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:HPLT) cancelled its extension vote scheduled for 3 pm ET October 3 and will instead liquidate at a per-share redemption price of $10.52 beginning October 4.
- Global Partner Acquisition Corp II (NASDAQ:GPAC) reversed its last week’s decision to liquidate has decided that the show must go on! It announced it is also negotiating a non-binding LOI with a target. As such, it has contributed funds to the trust to extend to October 14, but has the ability to extend further to January 14, 2024. Reversing liquidation status has become something of a trend in the past month. Since the end of August, Atlantic Coastal, Crixus BH3 and now Global Partner II have all opted to continue pursing a deal after first announcing their intention to liquidate.
Latest Non-Redemption Agreements
- Crixus BH3 Acquisition Company (NASDAQ:BHAC) intends to enter into non-redemption agreements with third parties ahead of its October 6 extension vote. Last week, the SPAC announced it was selling its sponsor economics and would soon appoint a new team and change its name to “Focus Impact BH3”.
News and Rumors
- PR: Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) will acquire de-SPAC POINT Biopharma (NASDAQ:PNT) for $12.50 two and a half years after it went public with Therapeutics Acquisition Corp. in June 2021.
- Bloomberg Law: Danimer Scientific (NYSE:DNMR), which went public with Live Oak in December 2020, succeeded in dismissing a suit that alleged it misled investors with its de-SPAC disclosures.
- MarketWatch: EVe Mobility (NYSE:EVE) has appointed a new team of 10X Capital veterans to management. 10X Capital was already a part of its sponsor but the SPAC was previously steered by a team with drawn from other organizations.
- Green Car Reports: Former Lordstown founder and CEO Steve Burns to acquire the bankrupt EV de-SPAC for $10 million as he was the only qualified bidder two years after his ouster
- Bloomberg: Patrick Galley of RiverNorth Capital says September being the first full month without a SPAC IPO since July 2022 means “We’re in more of a normal market,” again.
Scheduling Notes
- Twin Ridge Capital Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: TRCA) which was supposed to hold their completion vote to combine with Carbon Revolution Limited yesterday, adjourned its shareholder vote to noon ET October 10. Twin Ridge has reopened its deadline for redemption decisions to to 5 pm ET October 6, one business day before special meeting.
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