SPACs hit $14.7 billion this year

SPACs are reaching heights not seen since 2021, despite their reputation as a symptom of an overly frothy market.

Driving the news: 74 blank check companies have gone public via deSPAC transaction, raising about $14.7 billion so far this year, per data from SPAC Insider.

• And its been accelerating. 44 SPACs priced in the second quarter, compared to 10 in the same period a year prior.
• That puts the market on track to beat its 2022 total, when 86 companies raised $13.4 billion.

Between the lines: There are some notable differences between now and the height of the SPAC boom.

• The majority of SPAC sponsors so far this year have had some prior SPAC experience — think Betsy Cohen or Cantor Fitzgerald — with at least 80% having completed a transaction in which they bought a company.
• That figure was 56% in 2021, offering an argument that this particular boom being more stable, per SPACInsider.

Yes, but: That doesn't bar the tourists from entering.

What we're watching: The percentage of IPOs that are SPAC listings.

• So far this year, SPACs make up a total of 38% of all IPOs. In 2021, it was 64%, per data from SPACInsider.
• Industry watchers believe that tariffs slowed IPO markets — but didn't have the same impact on SPAC listings, and suggest that SPACs could be even lower as a total this year.

The bottom line: Investors are hungry for new listings, and the SPACs reputational woes aren't keeping them away.

• The big question is if there are $22 billion worth of companies that are willing to go public via SPAC?
• While some companies have fared well in public markets following a SPAC merger (Hims was a SPAC deal, and is up 410% since its first day trading), plenty of former SPAC targets have since pivoted to IPOs (Think Circle).