So here we are with even the SEC warning against the pitfalls of SPAC-endorsed investments.
“It is never a good idea to invest in a SPAC just because someone famous sponsors or invests in it or says it is a good investment. ” –SEC released note: Celebrity Involvement with SPACs – Investor Alert.
"Consider a $300 million financing deal to complete the merger of NewHold Investment, a SPAC, with Evolv Technology. It included a number of hedge funds but also several famous athletes, such as the tennis power couple Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi and the soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning." -The New York Times
Colin Kaepernick, Alex Rodriguez, they’re all in it.
“They include Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who is trying to raise $287 million for a SPAC with a focus on social justice, and Alex Rodriguez, a three-time most valuable player who retired from the New York Yankees in 2016 at No. 4 on the career home run list.
Mr. Rodriguez is the chief executive of his own SPAC, Slam Corp, which he established in February, and may sit on the board of whatever company it acquires. He said he and his partners had already seen more than 70 potential targets after raising $500 million.”
N.Y. Times, March 26, 2021
Has the SPAC extravaganza reached its limit ? Remember, no matter who takes a business public, that business is not going to be a better business just because it’s got some famous person’s name attached to it.