The stockmarket’s “Spac” boom is slowing

The number of special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) coming to market has slumped after increased regulatory scrutiny and questions over their performance.

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There is ample cash available to fund pie-in-the-sky technologies such as flying robotic taxis
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Special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) “are falling short of their promises”, says Rana Foroohar in the Financial Times. They are billed as a “cheaper, more efficient… way to bring new companies public” than the traditional initial public offering (IPO). Last year the vehicles “raised as much cash as they had done over the entire preceding decade”. This year “there have been 30% more Spac issuances than traditional IPOs”. Yet returns for investors often disappoint.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.