SPAC Statistics Round-Up from SPACInfo.com

As we enjoy this pause in the capital markets, it's time to take stock of SPAC statistics over the past five years.

There have been no SPACs priced since Chardan 2008 China Acquisition Corp.'s August 12, 2008 $55 million IPO. The following figures include proceeds from overallotments (Green Shoes) at IPO:

Total Raised by SPAC IPOs During 2007-2008 YTD:	$15,584,855,632
Total Raised by SPAC IPOs During 2003-2007:	$6,123,511,707
Total Raised by SPAC IPOs Since 2003:	$21,708,367,339
Largest Amount Raised via SPAC IPO:	$1,035,000,000
Total Dollar Amount of SPACs Awaiting IPO:	$14,244,250,008
Number of SPAC IPOs During 2007-2008 YTD:	80
Number of SPAC IPOs Awaiting IPO:	84
Number of SPAC IPOs Since 2003:	158

All these figures were taken from the SPACInfo searchable database, available here.

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Yale School of Management Paper Argues That SPAC Shareholders Consistently Approve Value-Destroying Transactions

In his October 13, 2008 paper, Stephan Lewellen argues:

"...that Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, represent a new asset class that is fundamentally distinct from other types of publicly traded equities. SPAC shareholders consistently approve value-destroying transactions despite being given voting rights not found in any other U.S. equity instrument, raising important theoretical questions about optimal voting mechanisms.

Furthermore, SPACs' highly predictable lifecycle yields highly predictable returns, with a monthly four-factor portfolio alpha of approximately 3% following the announcement of an acquisition and -2% after an acquisition has been completed. SPACs also frequently trade at a discount to their theoretical lower bound prior to the announcement of an acquisition, implying that the option value of future acquisitions is negative. Finally, SPACs completing an acquisition have a market beta of less than one despite an average leverage multiple of 2.5, yielding new evidence in the debate over the relationship between beta and leverage."

Click here to download the full paper (Click "Download" above the abstract)

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SPACs With Less Than 100 Days to Announce or Close an Acquisition: It's a Fire Sale

As of today, the following SPACs have fewer than 100 days to announce or close their acquisitions. M&A bankers: time to buckle down on those remaining to close. For those SPACs still in the market, might it be worthwhile to lob a call into management to pitch that sell-side you've been working for a while?

For those SPACs that have yet to announce a target for acquisition, the mere act of signing an vague letter of intent that doesn't even disclose the name of the target should be enough to buy another six months

SPACs With Less Than 100 Days Remaining to Announce an Acquisition:

• Churchill Ventures Ltd -- 21 Days remaining
• Oceanaut, Inc. -- 22 Days remaining
• Alpha Security Group Corp -- 43 Days remaining
• Santa Monica Media Corp -- 48 Days remaining
• Pinpoint Advance Corp -- 71 Days remaining

SPACs with Less Than 100 Days to Close an Acquisition:

• Marathon Acquisition Corp has only 15 Days remaining to complete its acquisition of Global Ship Lease
• Energy Services Acquisition Corp has only 21 Days remaining to complete its acquisition of C.J. Hughes Construction and S.T. Pipeline
• Granahan McCourt Acquisition Corp has only 70 Days remaining to complete its acquisition of Pro Brand International, Inc

Source? The SPACInfo.com Database, of course...

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Begins Issuing Research on SPACs, First Rating Unsurprisingly a "Buy"

According to DealFlowMedia, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. has begun issuing research on SPACs, initiating with a "Buy" rating on Marathon Acquisition Corp (AMEX: MAQ). SPAC underwriters will take interest as Ladenburg was an underwriter on the Marathon IPO and currently has the company on out on the road trying to convince shareholders to vote for its deal.

As we mentioned in a recent post on Marathon, Michael Gross announced that he would be buying 12-vessel Global Ship Lease (a subsidiary of CMA CGM S.A. of France) for about $1 billion.