After a slowdown in SPAC merger announcements since February, the SPAC market picked back up this past week with 8 companies announcing acquisitions. Synthetic biotech Ginkgo Bioworks (GKBW.RC) headlined the announcements with its merger with Soaring Eagle Acquisition (SRNG) at a $17.8 billion pro-forma equity value. This year 126 SPAC have announced mergers and over 140 SPACs have mergers pending shareholder approval. Currently there are over 700 SPACs searching for acquisition targets, with 420 SPACs already trading.
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Ginkgo Bioworks
This synthetic biology company specializes in programming cells for applications across the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Despite rumors of IPO plans since 2017, Ginkgo Bioworks decided to go public via SPAC merger, following the IPO of close peer Zymergen (ZY), which has seen poor trading (-8%) since its IPO last month.
SPAC: Soaring Eagle Acquisition (SRNG)
LTM Revenue: $76.7 million
Operating Income/Loss: -$137 million
Y/y Growth: 41%
Enterprise Value: $15.2 billion
Better
This online homeownership company provides services that include mortgage, real estate, title, and homeowners insurance. With the news of Genworth Financial's Enact Holdings (ACT) IPO postponement this week, Better is trying its luck going public via SPAC merger.
SPAC: Aurora Acquisition (AURC)
LTM Revenue: $875.6 million
Operating Income/Loss: $220.1 million
Y/y Growth: 884%
Enterprise Value: $6.7 billion
Wynn Interactive
Being spun out from Wynn Resorts, this company provides a mobile platform for casino games and sports betting. Similar online gambling platforms have favored SPAC mergers over the past year with notable mergers from DraftKings (Diamond Eagle Acquisition) (DKNG) and Golden Nugget Online Gaming (Landcadia Holdings II) (GNOG).
SPAC: Austerlitz Acquisition I (AUS)
LTM Revenue: $96 million (2021E)
Operating Income/Loss: n/a
Y/y Growth: 171%
Enterprise Value: $3.2 billion
Plus
This company develops autonomous driving technology for trucks. Plus' decision to go public via SPAC follows the IPO of one of its top competitors, TuSimple (TSP), which has seen poor returns (-13%) since its IPO last month.
SPAC: Hennessy Capital Investment V (HCIC)
LTM Revenue: $0
Operating Income/Loss: n/a
Y/y Growth: n/a
Enterprise Value: $2.5 billion
Bird
This mobility company provides electric scooters through its mobile app for urban ride sharing. As COVID-19 headwinds ease, Bird expects to average triple digit revenue growth from 2021 to 2023 and achieve $815 million in revenue in FY2023.
SPAC: Switchback II (SWBK)
LTM Revenue: $95 million
Operating Income/Loss: -$0.2 million
Y/y Growth: 37%
Enterprise Value: $2.3 billion
