The SPAC golden age might finally be coming to an end. Special purpose acquisition companies, or blank check companies, became a method of choice over the past two years for taking new businesses public, raising a record $160 billion in 2021.
But now that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-hike plans are splashing cold water over a formerly blistering-hot stock market, the appeal of SPACs is starting to wane as the values of portfolios drop.
CNBC’s proprietary index of SPACs that have completed mergers fell 23% in January, resulting in losses worth billions of dollars. At least three SPACs had to drop plans to launch IPOs last month over concerns about market volatility, according to MarketWatch.
The biggest-name SPAC sponsors, such as venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, activist investor Bill Ackman and real estate mogul Sam Zell, all felt some amount of impact from the market rout. But some fared worse than others.
Here’s a look at the portfolios of 11 of the most famed SPAC dealmakers and how much of a beating their holdings took in January.
The impact overall
1. Chamath Palihapitiya (Social Capital)
Sometimes called the “King of SPACs,” Chamath Palihapitiya is the chairman and CEO of venture capital firm Social Capital and a former Facebook executive. To date, he has sponsored 14 SPACs. In the month of January, Palihapatiya’s SPAC portfolio plunged in value by 23%.
Holdings:
SPCE (Virgin Galactic)
OPEN (Opendoor Technologies)
CLOV (Clover Health)
IPOD (Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp IV)
SOFI (SoFi) – formerly IPOE (Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp V)
IPOF (Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp VI)
MP (MP Materials)
DM (Desktop Metal Inc)
MILE (Metromile Inc)
PTRA (Proterra) – formerly ACTC (ArcLight Clean Transition Corp)
LTCH (Latch) – formerly TSIA (TS Innovation Acquisition Corp)
SUNL (Sunlight Financial) – formerly SPRQ (Spartan Acquisition Corp II)
RNW (ReNew Global) – formerly RMGB (RMG Acquisition Corp II)
BGRY (Berkshire Grey) – formerly RAAC (Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp)
2. Harry Sloan (Eagle Equity Parters)
Harry Sloan is the former chairman of media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a producer of movies and television programs. He is now the CEO of investment firm Eagle Equity Partners which has sponsored 8 SPACs to date. Sloan’s SPACs lost 22% in value in January.
Holdings:
Anuvu (no longer public), formerly ENT (Global Eagle Entertainment) – formerly GEAC (Global Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
VDTH (Videocon d2h) – formerly EAGL (Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp.), delisted after Dish TV acquired it
WSC (WillScot Corp.) – formerly EAGL (Double Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
TH (Target Hospitality) – formerly EAGL (Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
DKNG (Draftkings) – formerly DEAC (Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
SKLZ (Skills) – formerly FEAC (Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
DNA (Ginkgo Bioworks) – formerly SRNG (Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
SPNGU (Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
SCRMU (Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp.)
3. Daniel Och (Sculptor Capital Management)
Daniel Och is the founder and chairman of publicly-traded hedge fund Sculptor (formerly Och-Ziff) Capital Management. He has sponsored only one SPAC, which plunged in value by 22%.
Holdings:
CZOO (Cazoo Group)
4. Niccolo de Masi (dMY Technology)
Niccolo de Masi is the CEO of dMY Technology, a company dedicated to listing SPACs in the public markets and merging them with private companies in the mobile landscape. De Masi’s SPAC portfolio value decreased by 18% in January.
Holdings:
RSI (Rush Street Interactive) – formerly DMYT (dMY Technology Group Inc.)
GENI (Genius Sports) – DMYD (dMY Technology Group Inc. II)
IONQ (IonQ) – formerly DMYI (dMY Technology Group, Inc. III)
PL (Planet Labs) – formerly DMYQ (dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV)
DMYS (dMY Technology Group, Inc. VI)
5. Michael Klein (Churchill Capital)
Michael Klein is a former Citigroup banker and a long-revered dealmaker on Wall Street. His SPAC portfolio plummeted by 12% in the month of January.
Holdings:
CLVT (Clarivate Analytics) – formerly CCC (Churchill Capital Corp)
SKIL (Skillsoft Corp.) – formerly CCX (Churchill Capital Corp II)
MPLN (Multiplan) – formerly CCXX (Churchill Capital Corp III)
LCID (Lucid Motors) – formerly CCIV (Churchill Capital Corp IV)
CCV (Churchill Capital Corp V)
CCVI (Churchill Capital Corp VI)
CVII (Churchill Capital Corp VII)
ALCC (AltC Acquisition Corp)
6. Alec Gores (The Gores Group)
Alec Gores is the CEO of private equity firm The Gores Group. He is “the man with more SPACs than anyone,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Gores’ portfolio value has been reduced by 10% in January.
Holdings:
VRRM (Verra Mobility)
UWMC (United Wholesale Mortgage)
SOND (Sonder)
PAE (PAE)
MTTR (Matterport)
LAZR (Luminar)
TWNK (Hostess)
AMBP (Ardagh Metal Packaging)
7. Bill Foley (Fidelity National Financial)
Bill Foley is the chairman of insurance firm Fidelity National Financial, a provider of title insurance to the real estate industry. In January his SPAC portfolio slumped by 5%.
Holdings:
AUS (Austerlitz Acquisition Corp. I)
ASZ (Austerlitz Acquisition Corp. II)
PSFE (Paysafe Group Holdings) – formerly BFT (Foley Trasimene Acquisition II)
SST (System1) – formerly TREB (Trebia Acquisition)
ALIT (Alight Solutions) – formerly WPF (Foley Trasimene Acquisition)
8. Eric Rosenfeld (Crescendo Partners)
Eric Rosenfeld is the CEO of New York-based investment firm Crescendo Partners. He is known for being an activist investor in the companies he invests in. So far, he has sponsored 6 SPACs with his firm. By the end of January, Rosenfeld’s SPAC portfolio was down by 4%.
Holdings:
HIL (Hill International)
PRIM (Rhapsody Acquisition Corporation)
SAEX (Trio Merger Corp.) – delisted in May 2020
PANL (Pangaea Logistics Solutions) – formerly QTET (Quartet Merger Corp.)
NEXT (NextDecade) – formerly HRMN (Harmony Merger Corp.)
ALGR (Allegro Merger Corp.) – delisted after terminating merger with TGI Fridays
9. Sam Zell (Equity Group Investments)
Sam Zell is the founder and chairman of private investment firm Equity Group Investments. His SPAC portfolio consists of just one company, whose stock barely moved in January.
Holdings:
EQD (Equity Distribution Acquisition Corp.)
10. Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital Management)
Bill Ackman is the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management. As of Wednesday, his firm is a top-20 shareholder in the streaming giant Netflix. Ackman’s SPAC portfolio, which includes only 1 SPAC, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH), ended the month of January with a 0.35% gain.
Holdings:
PSTH (Pershing Square Tontine Holdings)
11. Tidjane Thiam (former Credit Suisse CEO)
Tidjane Thiam is the former CEO of Credit Suisse. His SPAC, Freedom Acquisition Corporation is focused on merging with a private company in financial technology. Thiam’s SPAC portfolio was flat in January, ending the month with a 0.54% gain.
Holdings:
FACT (Freedom Acquisition I Corp.)
