SPACs: Up, up, and…away?

The special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) craze took the world by storm during 2020 and early 2021. SPACs continue to dominate the finance and business news cycles, with headlines of unicorns choosing to go public through this IPO-alternative. More recently, the future of the SPAC market has been called into question, as concerns have arisen relating to the performance of de-SPACed companies and SPAC-related lawsuits.

Join us for a lively panel discussion with our guests:

Professor Joseph A. Grundfest, W. A. Franke Professor of Law and Business and Senior Faculty, Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School. Former Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, co-founder with William Sharpe (1990 Nobel Laureate in Economics) of Financial l Engines, and Chair of the Audit Committee at KKR, Inc. Professor Grundfest is a nationally prominent expert on capital markets, corporate governance, and securities litigation.

William D. Cohan, bestselling author, financial journalist, former M&A banker, and founding partner of Puck News. Mr. Cohan is a regular contributor to the New York Times, AirMail, Financial Times, and CNBC, and was formerly a Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair.

Keith Canton, Managing Director and Head of Private Capital Markets at J.P. Morgan. Responsible for all aspects of private placement and PIPE transactions, including the firm’s SPAC PIPE practice. Former Global co-Head of Private Capital Markets at Barclays, and previously a member of the Private Capital Markets group at Lehman Brothers.

During our discussion, we will address:

Market overview

The SPAC market: SPAC IPOs, de-SPACs; how are de-SPACs faring?
Is the SPAC PIPE market providing support for de-SPACing transactions?

Regulatory and potential legislative developments

What is the SEC saying about additional disclosure or regulation?
Is the SPAC Act likely to move forward and do away with the forward-looking statements safe harbor?

Litigation