SPAK
U.K. looks to siphon some SPACs across the Atlantic
- After losing its position as Europe's leading financial capital, the
British government is looking toward looser stock listing rules to
attract tech firms and SPACs. A surge in blank check companies have
short-circuited the traditional IPO process, prompting a need for change
to
support the U.K.'s financial services sector. New listing rules would
also
aim to diversify London's recently struggling stock market, which is
skewed
toward older areas like banking, energy and mining.
- *Backdrop:* Just weeks after the Brexit transition period ended on
Jan. 1, Amsterdam surpassed London as Europe's largest share trading
center, which piled pressure on the city to improve its competitiveness.
SPACs have meanwhile surged in popularity during the pandemic, reaching
record highs last year and continuing at breakneck speed so far in 2021.
In
fact, in the first two months of the year, there have been $61B worth of
SPAC IPOs globally, almost all listing in the U.S. ($83B worth of deals
were recorded in 2020).
- *Proposals: *Current U.K. rules require SPACs to suspend trading once
a target is acquired (meaning investors are locked in even if they don't
like the purchase), but new recommendations from the Financial Conduct
Authority could lift that requirement. Other changes would make it easier
for company founders to list shares without giving up control, including
dual-class share structures or reducing the free float requirement.
Dual-class share structures have seen the Nasdaq and New York Stock
Exchange attract many hot tech IPOs that have served as magnets for new
growth companies to list in the U.S.
- ETFs: SPAK, SPCX, SPXZ
|Today, 5:40 AM
U.K. looks to siphon some SPACs across the Atlantic
- After losing its position as Europe's leading financial capital, the
British government is looking toward looser stock listing rules to
attract tech firms and SPACs. A surge in blank check companies have
short-circuited the traditional IPO process, prompting a need for change
to
support the U.K.'s financial services sector. New listing rules would
also
aim to diversify London's recently struggling stock market, which is
skewed
toward older areas like banking, energy and mining.
- *Backdrop:* Just weeks after the Brexit transition period ended on
Jan. 1, Amsterdam surpassed London as Europe's largest share trading
center, which piled pressure on the city to improve its competitiveness.
SPACs have meanwhile surged in popularity during the pandemic, reaching
record highs last year and continuing at breakneck speed so far in 2021.
In
fact, in the first two months of the year, there have been $61B worth of
SPAC IPOs globally, almost all listing in the U.S. ($83B worth of deals
were recorded in 2020).
- *Proposals: *Current U.K. rules require SPACs to suspend trading once
a target is acquired (meaning investors are locked in even if they don't
like the purchase), but new recommendations from the Financial Conduct
Authority could lift that requirement. Other changes would make it easier
for company founders to list shares without giving up control, including
dual-class share structures or reducing the free float requirement.
Dual-class share structures have seen the Nasdaq and New York Stock
Exchange attract many hot tech IPOs that have served as magnets for new
growth companies to list in the U.S.
- ETFs: SPAK, SPCX, SPXZ
|Today, 5:40 AM
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