The deal
Business combination
The merger that turns the shell and a private company into one listed operating business.
Also written: de-spac, de-spac transaction, initial business combination
The combination is the entire purpose of the vehicle. It requires a definitive agreement, a registration statement or proxy describing the target, a shareholder vote, and a closing.
On closing the shell's listing carries over to the combined company, usually under a new ticker, and the founder shares convert.
Related terms
Definitive agreement
The signed, binding contract to combine, the point at which a target stops being a rumour.
De-SPAC
The process, and the resulting company, once a SPAC has completed its combination.
Proxy statement
The document soliciting a shareholder vote, and the place redemption mechanics are set out.
See the term in the wild: the screener shows trust size, per-share value and deadlines for every U.S. SPAC, and each profile links to the filings the numbers came from.
Definitions describe market practice and are not investment, legal or tax advice.