Guides
SPAC guides
How the structure actually works, written from the filings. Start with what a SPAC is, then the mechanics you meet when you own one.
What is a SPAC? The structure, the economics and the risks
A special purpose acquisition company raises money in an IPO, holds it in trust, and has a fixed window to merge with a private business or give the money back. Here is how the structure works, who earns what, and where the risks sit.
Sep 4, 2026
Reading filings
How to read a SPAC prospectus in ten minutes
A 300-page prospectus contains about eight numbers that matter. Here is where each one sits, what it tells you, and which pages you can skip.
Jan 28, 2026
Mechanics
SPAC redemption: how it works, and when to use it
The redemption right is what makes a pre-deal SPAC low risk. Here is the mechanism, the deadlines, and the arithmetic that decides whether to take the cash or stay in.
Jan 14, 2026
Analysis
How to evaluate a SPAC sponsor
The sponsor decides whether a vehicle closes anything. Here is what their record actually tells you, and what it does not.
Feb 25, 2026
Comparisons
SPACs vs traditional IPOs: the differences that actually matter
Both routes end with a listed company, but the risk, the cost and the disclosure land on different people. Here is where the two genuinely diverge.
Nov 26, 2025
Analysis
The risks in a SPAC, in the order they actually bite
Dilution, redemption, the deadline and the sponsor's incentive. What each one does to a holder, and when it stops being theoretical.
Feb 11, 2026
Mechanics
SPAC warrants: what they are, what they are worth, and when they are not
Warrants are the leveraged bet on a deal closing and the dilution nobody counts. How the terms work, and why they expire worthless more often than not.
Dec 10, 2025
Mechanics
The SPAC lifecycle: from S-1 to closing or wind-up
Every stage a blank-check vehicle passes through, what filing marks it, and what a holder can do at each point.
Nov 12, 2025
Analysis
An investor's checklist for evaluating a SPAC
Twelve things to establish before you own one, in the order that answers the question fastest, with the filing that answers each.
Apr 29, 2026
Market
A history of SPAC booms and busts
From blank-check penny stocks to a $160bn year and back again. What each cycle changed about the structure, and what survived.
Mar 18, 2026
Regulation
How SPACs are regulated, and what changed
The rules that shaped the structure, the 2024 reforms that reshaped it, and how the U.S. framework compares with Europe and Asia.
Apr 8, 2026
Market
Why interest rates decide how many SPACs exist
The trust earns the risk-free rate, which makes a pre-deal SPAC a rate instrument. That single fact explains most of the cycle.
Jun 10, 2026
Analysis
How a SPAC deal gets valued, and why the headline number misleads
Enterprise value, pro-forma share count and the cash that actually arrives. Where the announced valuation comes from and what it leaves out.
May 20, 2026
Mechanics
Tax considerations for SPAC investors
How redemption, warrants and a Cayman domicile are generally treated, and the questions to put to your own adviser.
Jul 1, 2026
Analysis
Six things people believe about SPACs that are not true
The claims that keep circulating, and what the filings actually show.
Jul 22, 2026