© Reuters. UK SPAC Hambro Perks winds up after deal proves elusive
Proactive Investors – A SPAC set up in the UK to take advantage of new rules introduced by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor has closed after failing to find anything to buy.
Hambro Perks Acquisition Company has ceased all operations and will wind down and return the money advanced to the company by its shareholders, it said today
SPACs or special acquisition companies are publicly listed shell companies with no assets or revenue, formed with the sole purpose of seeking out a target company to combine in what’s called a reverse merger.
One of their quirks is the two-year deal horizon. If a SPAC fails to ink a deal with a target company, the SPAC is liquidated and funds are returned to initial investors (typically private equity funds and venture capitalists).
Mostly a US phenomenon, Sunak changed the rules in London in 2021 after a raft of new SPACs chose to list in Amsterdam rather than in the UK.
SPAC to square one: The boom and bust of the blank cheque market
Many of these have also since closed including, two weeks ago. Pegasus Acquisition, a vehicle backed by several billionaires including LVMH’s (EPA:) Bernard Arnault that was Europe’s largest SPAC.
Sir Anthony Salz, Hambro Perks’ chair said “challenging circumstances” for stock market listings were the reason for its throwing in the towel.
Hambro Perks raised £143.5m from investors but after talks fell through with drug developer Istesso earlier this year Salz said it was unlikely it would find a suitable alternative within the SPAC’s two-year life window.
“Public equity markets have faced challenging circumstances in the past year, and several new listings have suffered,” he said in the statement.
“We have had discussions with some excellent companies, but given the current market conditions, we have concluded that there is little likelihood of achieving a successful business combination within our permitted timeframe.”
