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Cerberus gets back on the SPAC horse

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Cerberus Capital Management on Friday became the latest private equity firm to form a SPAC, a sort of blank-check company that goes public and then acquires a private company.

Why it matters: Cerberus first dipped its toe into SPACs well before the current boom, forming Iron Horse Acquisition in early 2018, but later decreased that SPAC's size and ultimately withdrew its IPO registration.

Details: Cerberus Telecom Acquisition Corp. will seek to raise $460 million and then purchase an "information and communications technology" company.

Go deeper: SPACs have become the new private equity

Go deeper

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
Updated Oct 31, 2020 - Economy & Business

Dunkin' Brands agrees to $11B Inspire Brands sale

Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Dunkin' Brands, operator of both Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, agreed on Friday to be taken private for nearly $11.3 billion, including debt, by Inspire Brands, a restaurant platform sponsored by private equity firm Roark Capital.

Why it matters: Buying Dunkin’ will more than double Inspire’s footprint, making it one of the biggest restaurant deals in the past 10 years. This could ultimately set up an IPO for Inspire, which already owns Arby's, Jimmy John's and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute, author of Codebook
27 mins ago - World

In cyber espionage, U.S. is both hunted and hunter

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

American outrage over foreign cyber espionage, like Russia's SolarWinds hack, obscures the uncomfortable reality that the U.S. secretly does just the same thing to other countries.

Why it matters: Secrecy is often necessary in cyber spying to protect sources and methods, preserve strategic edges that may stem from purloined information, and prevent diplomatic incidents.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Hans Nichols, author of Sneak Peek
54 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Scoop

White House plots "full-court press" for $1.9 trillion relief plan

National Economic Council Director Brian Deese speaks during a White House news briefing. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Biden White House is deploying top officials to get a wide ideological spectrum of lawmakers, governors and mayors on board with the president’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief proposal, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: The broad, choreographed effort shows just how crucially Biden views the stimulus to the nation's recovery and his own political success.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow