An article on Bloomberg yesterday announced what many in SPAC Land have been wondering after UBS acquired Credit Suisse – where was Niron Stabinsky, the Head of SPACs at Credit Suisse, going to land?
The answer is Banco Santander SA, in what appears to be a massive lift of most (or nearly all) of Credit Suisse’s banking team. Included in the group heading to Santander is David Hermer, who was Credit Suisse’s global head of equity and debt capital markets, and Steve Geller, who was head of mergers and acquisitions.
As for SPACs, Credit Suisse has always been a powerhouse SPAC bank, topping or ranking near the top of the league tables. More importantly, Niron Stabinsky and Credit Suisse underwrote and advised some of the biggest sponsor teams names which included Bill Foley, Chinh Chu, Barry Sternlicht, Tom Farley, and of course, Chamath Palihapitya, who is arguably the most recognizable name. All were guided by Stabinsky and the Credit Suisse team.
Meanwhile, Santander presents a unique opportunity for the former Credit Suisse team in that by being off the well worn path of the usual bulge bracket banks, they can move the entire banking group over without any of the usual conflicts of incumbent star bankers with existing franchises. That would be nearly impossible at any of the other more obvious banks.
This is a big win for Santander, which should be a big SPAC player going forward. Naturally, everyone will be on “garden leave” for a few months, but you can be sure to see the Santander name crop up in at least a few de-SPACs come this Fall.


McKinley Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:MKLYU) has filed for a $150 million SPAC to hunt for an innovative target company with an experienced financial team that has dabbled in SPACs before. The new SPAC is offering investors one right to a 1/10 share in each unit with no overfunding of the trust, but it could provide a...
At the SPAC of Dawn The rain of SPACs has continued with four expected to make their debuts during today’s trading sessions after pricing their IPOs overnight. The largest of these, EQV Ventures II (NASDAQ:EVACU), even managed an upsize, making it the largest SPAC IPO since Ares II (NYSE:AACT) pulled together $450 million in 2023....
EQV Ventures II (NASDAQ:EVACU) announced the pricing of its upsized $420 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “EVACU”, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The new SPAC plans to merge with an energy target involved in upstream exploration or production. EQV II’s management team is led by...
Vendome Acquisition Corporation I (NASDAQ:VNMEU) announced the pricing of its $200 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “VNMEU”, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The new SPAC plans to focus its search on target business in the consumer sector operating in North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe....
Origin Investment Corp. I (NASDAQ:ORIQU) announced the pricing of its $60 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “ORIQU”, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The new SPAC aims to mount a broad search for a target with a strong management and both revenue and earnings growth potential....