SPACInsider

Betsy Cohen and Max Smeal Discuss the SPAC Market

This week, we speak with Betsy Cohen and Maxwell Smeal from the Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I team to get their views on the current SPAC landscape. Betsy Cohen is already a well-known figure in SPAC circles for having previously led the Fintech Acquisition and FTAC SPACs.

Betsy and Max discuss the past, present and future of the SPAC product and how they have managed to craft such a successful string of deals, especially in difficult markets.

Plus, Betsy gives us her view on some of the challenges surrounding SPACs over the past few years and why she thinks SPACs will continue to have a place in the IPO market overall.

Give it a listen.

Will Gray, from New Era Helium, and John Lipman, from Roth CH V (ROCL)

Most people don’t spend much time thinking about helium, but the resource is critical for some key industries and much of the supply lies with the US’ geopolitical adversaries. There are also no helium mining companies listed on a major worldwide exchange, but that could soon be changing.

This week, we speak with Will Gray, co-Founder and CEO of New Era Helium and John Lipman, co-CEO and co-Chairman of Roth CH Acquisition V Co. (NASDAQ:ROCL). The two announced a business combination in January that would see New Era become a unique stock representing a resource that is not trading like most other commodities.

Will describes how New Era has positioned itself in a helium market that can be tricky to play at a time when supply is tight. John lays out what could be next for New Era once the combination is complete and what he sees taking shape in the new SPAC cycle now that he's on his fifth SPAC deal himself.

 

SPACs and Taxes - What to Consider After the Election and Before the End of the Year

This week, the SPACInsider Podcast delves into some of the tax and accounting issues that SPAC teams and investors should be considering as we approach the Presidential election and the end of 2024.

Mark Deters and Ryan Bixenman, partners at WithumSmith+Brown, join us to help break it all down.

For example, what does it mean for SPACs searching overseas if Trump enacts a wide range of tariffs? What about the excise tax on SPAC redemptions if Kamala Harris wins and raises it to 4%? Will this result in increased SPAC liquidations before the end of 2024?

Mark and Ryan discuss these considerations and more as we approach the end of the tax year and what further changes might be in store.

Give it a listen.

SPAC Market Update with Dimitre Genov, Ed Kovary, and Nick Skibo

This week, SPACInsider founder Kristi Marvin speaks with a panel spanning the banking, investing and advisory sides of SPAC transactions.

She is joined by Ed Kovary, Head of SPAC Capital Markets at BTIG, Nick Skibo, Managing Partner at Gritstone Asset Management, and Dimitre Genov, a Managing Director at Brookline Capital Markets advising SPAC sponsors on IPOs and de-SPAC transactions.

Kristi checks in on how recent trends like the resurgence of anchor investors is perceived by the various participants in a SPAC transaction through to close, and what the SPAC landscape looks like now with the previous cycle winding to a close and a new one beginning.

 

Baird Medical Senior Advisor & CMO David Kaysen and Excelfin's COO Brian Sun

SPAC targets in the healthcare space typically are a few years away from full commercialization, but shareholders in Exelfin Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:XFIN) will get to vote this week on a combination with a medical device company that is already churning out positive EBITDA.

This week, we speak with Brian Sun, Chief Operating Officer of Excelfin and David Kaysen, Senior Advisor and Chief Marketing Officer for Baird Medical.

The two announced a $279 million dollar combination in June 2023. Brian explains why Excelfin diverted its initial focus from fintech to medical devices.

David lays out how Baird has gotten this far through commercialization in China and why it expects successful adoption in the US. With the prospect of tariffs potentially increasing between those two jurisdictions, they also explain how Baird and Excelfin have a plan for that as well.

 

XCF Global's CEO Mihir Dange and Focus Impact BH3's Co-CEO Wray Thorn

The world has a long way to go to meet climate goals, especially airlines. There is currently no alternative to jet fuel-powered passenger planes on the horizon, which puts the focus on sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF.

This week, we speak with Mihir Dange, CEO of XCF Global and Wray Thorn, co-CEO of Focus Impact BH3 Acquisition Company (NASDAQ:BHAC). The two signed a $1.8 billion combination in March and aim to create one of the only pureplay SAF producers on the public markets.

XCF is in the process of converting existing diesel facilities to produce SAF and Mihir explains why this approach is key to bringing production online faster.

Wray also lays out the financial case for backing SAF production and how a SPAC deal plays into XCF’s future funding mix.

Vertiv's David Cote and GS I's Tom Knott Discuss the Success of their SPAC Combination

This week, in a special edition of the SPACInsider Podcast, we speak with David Cote, Executive Chairman of Vertiv, and Tom Knott, who was previously Head of Permanent Capital at Goldman Sachs, who joined forces in 2019 on GS Acquisition Holdings Corp.

GS I combined with Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) in what has become the most successful SPAC deal of all time.

We discuss what were the critical ingredients to the transaction's success and what is needed to achieve solid returns in SPAC deals under the current conditions.

However, it wasn’t all roses from the start, with the deal closing right as the pandemic shocks were beginning to hit the system. But, the two explain how their team weathered the storm with both preparation and a plan for the company’s post-transaction future.

Give it a listen.

 

One Energy's Founder and CEO, Jereme Kent

Providing dedicated power to industrial facilities is a task that has drawn in a variety of different energy technologies and, increasingly, a variety of SPAC transactions.

This week I speak with Jereme Kent, founder and CEO of One Energy. One Energy provides dedicated clean power generation to industrial clients allowing them to lock in cheaper energy, sell power back to the grid or turn their operations into net zero facilities.

Jereme explains One Energy’s 20-year vision for how this work will stack and why the time was right for it to ink a $384 million combination with TortoiseEcofin Acquisition Corp. III (NYSE:TRTL). He also gets into how this deal is structured to provide some unique benefits to public shareholders.

DevvStream Co-Founder/CEO Sunny Trinh & Carl Stanton, CEO of Focus Impact (FIAC)

SPACs have brought a number of sustainability companies to market, but the economics of carbon credits have always been on the edge of those specific opportunities.

Focus Impact Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:FIAC) aims to change that with its $213 million combination with DevvStream, a Canadian company focused on generating carbon credits with proprietary technology-based approaches.

This week, we speak with Sunny Trinh, co-founder and CEO of DevvStream and Carl Stanton, CEO of Focus Impact.

Sunny explains how DevvStream has worked to build confidence in carbon assets by consulting its wide pipeline of clients on getting better and more measurable impacts out of projects.

And Carl tells us why he believes DevvStream’s operational efficiencies and capital-light model make it a unique play on the carbon market and a more stable fit for the current market conditions.

 

Sky Harbour CFO Francisco Gonzalez

SPAC deals have provided a variety of ways to try and ride the growth in the private aviation space. One of the most successful so far has been to approach it not through the aircraft or sales of flights, but as an infrastructure play.

This week, we speak with Francisco Gonzalez, CFO of private hangar operator Sky Harbour (NYSE:SKYH).

Francisco explains why he believes Sky Harbour has traded consistently up from its valuation in its $777 million combination with Yellowstone two years ago.

Why are hangars such a high-demand and profitable part of the aviation space? And how has Sky Harbour gained investor confidence in its plans yet to come while much of the industry faces skepticism?