After Failing To Find Merger Partner(s), Bill Foley-Backed SPACs Seek Liquidation
- Two blank-check companies backed by investor Bill Foley plan to liquidate by the end of this year. Together the firms raised $2 billion.
- The sponsors said that the firms Austerlitz Acquisition Corp I (NYSE: AUS) and Austerlitz Acquisition Corp II (NYSE: ASZ) have failed in finding merger partners despite dozens of negotiations.
- Both companies went public in 2021. Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) typically have two years to find a company to take public, Reuters said.
- However, the sponsors said it was in the shareholders' best interests to return the cash this year instead of waiting for the expiration of the deadline in March 2023, adding that they would seek their approval for the purpose.
- The report noted that SPACs had become one of the biggest casualties of the market selloff as the U.S. Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy in the wake of decades-high inflation, and the aggressive rhetoric from the bank's policymakers has crushed hopes of any relief in the near term.
- Last month, "SPAC King" Chamath Palihapitiya also said he was winding down two blank-check firms after failing to find suitable merger targets within the deadline.
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