How to Join
- Please register here by Thursday March 4 4.30pm
- You will be emailed the event link before the start of the event.
SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies, or blank check companies, have recently emerged as a new way for private companies to go public. Going public is a stressful but monumental transition in a company’s life, and SPACs offer an alternate process of getting listed. Amid the uncertainty of capital markets in the wake of COVID-19, raising blank check companies with a definite time horizon and outsized gains for their sponsors is an enticing offer. SPACs in 2021 have already raised half of the total proceeds raised in 2020, and Europe is gearing up to offer SPAC listings with new regulation changes due to Brexit.
Our work with SPACs has given us an insight into the process companies undergo when they choose to go public via SPACs as opposed to traditional IPOs. Given the disproportionate interest these vehicles have received from the tech industry, SPACs offer a lucrative path for VCs and PE funds looking to exit, while affording them greater control over the price and thus minimizing the uncertainty of an IPO.
Thomas Frater | Hussar & Co • Peter Grace | CFO Business
Thomas Frater is Founder and CEO of Hussar & Co., a boutique M&A and corporate finance advisor. Peter Grace is Managing Partner of CFO Business and former Managing Director, Corporate Finance at Hussar & Co. They will be joined by Director of Finance & Operation Márton Régi and Financial Analysts Rachit Agarwal and Xhoxhina Facja. Márton, Rachit and Xhoxhina are graduates of the CEU MS in Finance Class of 2020.
Hussar & Co opened its first office in New York 2010 in response to the global financial crisis, for finding new funding sources and investors for distressed assets. In its first five years, the group expanded its presence to 20 countries across the US, Europe, and Eurasia. In 2015, the firm relocated its physical presence to Europe and added real estate advisory services for its principal investor, Starwood Capital Group. In 2020, Hussar & Co. opened a European regional office in Budapest, Hungary in addition to establishing its global headquarters in Baar, Switzerland.