ANALYSIS: The SPACathon Marches On, But the Hill Steepens

SPAC IPOs essentially rewrote the record book last quarter, greatly exceeding both the total SPAC IPO deal count and value for the entirety of 2020 (itself a record year). They now dominate the IPO market, but storm clouds are brewing that might rain on this parade—maybe even for SPACs enjoying the backing of luminaries like Ciara and Shaq.

Special purpose acquisition companies raised $98.6 billion on 304 offerings during the first quarter. Those figures compare to $83.27 billion raised on 248 offerings in all of 2020—numbers which themselves represent a huge increase over the 63 SPAC IPOs raising $11.7 ...