Below are the recently released Q2 & First Half 2020 SPAC IPO Underwriting League Tables

Methodology:
In addition to the traditional methodology used whereby any bookrunner or lead manager gets full credit for IPO size to calculate deal volume, there are two additional rankings – volume by number of units sold and volume sold % market share (highlighted in green). For example, if SPAC-XYZ raised $500 million at IPO, and underwriter A sold $400 million of the same deal and underwriter B sold only $100 million, that’s how they will be credited.  This methodology gives a more accurate window into the actual deal volume.

First Half (1H) 2020 & Q2 2020

Ranked by Volume

(All data is sort-able using the arrow keys (?/?) located in the header cells)

Source: SPACInsider, Ranked by volume

If you hadn’t already guessed, Credit Suisse had a spectacular quarter (SPACtacular?).  If you look at the Q1 League Tables, you see Credit Suisse only underwrote two deals between January 1st and March 31st, but in the second quarter, Credit Suisse stepped on the gas and drove home five SPACs to IPO with an average deal size of an astounding $696.9 million. But that’s not all, because Credit Suisse already has three more SPAC IPOs queued up for the third quarter with Artius Acquisition Corp., GO Acquisiton Corp. and HPX Corp., for a combined anticipated initial gross proceeds of $1.225 billion. And while Credit Suisse is always in the front of the pack for the League Tables, clearly quarantine has not been an issue for them.

However, if we look at the full first half of the year, Goldman Sachs is nipping at Credit Suisse’s heels.  Credit Suisse had a total volume figure of $3.99 billion with seven SPACs priced for 1H-2020, but Goldman took the number two spot with $3.264 billion and six deals priced  However, Citigroup is only $60 million behind Goldman with $3.204 in gross proceeds raised and five IPOs.  The third quarter should be extremely competitive and any one of these banks could take the lead.

Nonetheless, rounding out the top five for the first half of 2020 are BofA, which took the #4 spot based on total volume of $1.966 billion, pricing three SPAC IPOs, followed by Deutsche Bank, at $1.69 billion volume and pricing four SPAC IPOs.

However, UBS, which took the #6 spot for the first half of 2020, has come on blazingly strong.  UBS had five IPOs in the first half of 2020, one more than Deutsche Bank and two more than BofA, but is currently participating in four SPACs that are on file to IPO in the third quarter, and two as left lead.

Whispers and rumors notwithstanding, the above banks are all looking to plant a flag in the third quarter and claim territory. However, they’ll still need to compete with Cowen, Cantor, Morgan Stanley and Jefferies.  Each of these banks has had uber successful deals in their own right, so the third quarter, and more importantly, the full year, is shaping up to be a battle royale.

Regardless, this has been an unusual quarter, to say the least.  What started with a pause and everyone in lock-down, quickly snowballed into the most prolific and abundant SPAC quarter ever. Truly.  Between April 1st and June 30th, 23 SPACs were priced raising gross proceeds of $7.81 billion. And that’s still taking into consideration that the first three weeks of April were on lock down.

The fourth quarter promises to be even busier, but there’s still Covid hanging around, potentially upending markets even further.  Either way, 2020 should go in the record books.  Hang on tight for Q3….it should be a wild ride.

You can find all the League Tables by clicking here.