TheCorporateCounsel.net

Yesterday, the SEC announced an open meeting to held at 10:00 am eastern on Wednesday, January 24th. This excerpt from the meeting’s Sunshine Act notice indicates that the SEC is ready to act on the SPAC rule proposals that it teed up nearly two years ago:

The Commission will consider whether to adopt new rules and amendments to enhance disclosures and provide additional investor protections in initial public offerings by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and in subsequent business combination transactions between SPACs and target companies (de-SPAC transactions), and to address investor protection concerns more broadly with respect to shell companies.

SPACs were red hot during the first few years of this decade, but they haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory in terms of public investor outcomes and the proposed rules are intended to rein them in by leveling the playing field between SPACs and other IPOs. That being said, I think many industry participants would argue that the rules as proposed wouldn’t just rein SPACs in – they would likely do them in.  It will be interesting to see what next Wednesday brings.

– John Jenkins