- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Maria L. Murphy2022-12-08T16:05:00
Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions have unique risks and require awareness of what it takes to operate as a public business. When a SPAC closes acquisition of an existing private operating company, the operating company becomes a public company and must meet relevant reporting obligations on an accelerated timeline for the first time.
Although the total number of domestic public companies declined significantly since its peak in 1996, a significant number of SPAC mergers closed in the last two years, according to a Deloitte report. SPACs continue to make up a significant number of new public companies.
“Last year had the most completed deals, including 199 SPAC mergers, up from 64 in 2020, and 350 traditional IPOs (initial public offerings), up from an average of 170 for the last decade,” said Will Braeutigam, partner, U.S. capital markets transactions leader at Deloitte. “This year will be the second highest year on record for completed SPAC mergers, with 93 mergers completed to date.”
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