SPAC Research Releases League Tables Featuring Top SPAC Underwriters and Law Firms of 2019
Capital continued to flow into the sector as high-quality sponsors entered the field and front-end returns to IPO investors remained strong.
Discussion of record deal activity to take place at upcoming SPAC Conference
NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Last year saw another record rise in blank check company activity. Fifty-nine special purpose acquisition companies, or “SPACs,” raised a record $13.6bn during 2019. Capital continued to flow into the sector as high-quality sponsors entered the field and front-end returns to IPO investors remained strong. SPACs focused on the TMT and consumer industries were the most popular last year, raising approximately $2.7bn for acquisitions. According to data provider SPAC Research, 97 active US-listed SPACs held approximately $22bn in their collective trust accounts at year-end 2019.
Twenty-eight SPACs closed acquisitions in 2019. Among the most successful of those deals were Michael Klein-backed Churchill Capital Corp., which merged with Clarivate Analytics Plc in May, and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., which took Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. public in October. Companies continued to take the SPAC listing route seriously in 2019, and approximately half of the year's deals included at least one private equity seller.
Benjamin Kwasnick, Founder of SPAC Research, said, "In a sign of the market's growing acceptance of SPAC listings, eight pending SPAC deals are currently trading above cash-in-trust per share."
A comprehensive discussion of market activity will take place on February 6, as The SPAC Conference 2020 returns to New York. SPAC executives, investors, and deal advisors will convene to discuss the state of the industry and what’s in store for 2020. “With more than a quarter of last year’s IPOs listing as SPACs, we expect some very robust discussion. Most of the companies on SPAC Research’s league tables will be on hand to share their experiences and network with attendees,” said Phillip LoFaso, President of DealFlow Events.
Visit the SPAC Conference website to learn more.
2019 SPAC Underwriting League Tables ( https://www.spacresearch.com/underwriter)
| Rank | Underwriter | Bookrunner Volume ($MM) |
Bookrunner Count |
% Share | |
| 1 | Cantor Fitzgerald | 3,076 | 14 | 22.61 | % |
| 2 | Credit Suisse | 1,446 | 9 | 10.63 | % |
| 3 | Deutsche Bank | 1,413 | 8 | 10.39 | % |
| 4 | Citigroup | 1,136 | 4 | 8.36 | % |
| 5 | Goldman Sachs | 894 | 6 | 6.57 | % |
| 6 | EarlyBirdCapital | 883 | 6 | 6.49 | % |
| 7 | BTIG | 783 | 4 | 5.75 | % |
| 8 | UBS | 610 | 4 | 4.48 | % |
| 9 | B. Riley FBR | 546 | 3 | 4.02 | % |
| 10 | Jefferies | 489 | 2 | 3.59 | % |
| 11 | Barclays | 332 | 3 | 2.44 | % |
| 12 | Chardan | 303 | 5 | 2.23 | % |
| 13 | Morgan Stanley | 273 | 2 | 2.00 | % |
| 14 | BofA | 269 | 2 | 1.98 | % |
| 15 | JP Morgan | 192 | 2 | 1.41 | % |
| 16 | I-Bankers | 173 | 2 | 1.27 | % |
| 17 | Nomura | 150 | 1 | 1.10 | % |
| 18 | Stifel | 150 | 1 | 1.10 | % |
| 19 | Cowen | 140 | 2 | 1.03 | % |
| 20 | Maxim | 104 | 2 | 0.76 | % |
| 21 | Northland | 86 | 1 | 0.63 | % |
| 22 | Craig-Hallum | 54 | 1 | 0.40 | % |
| 23 | BMO | 50 | 1 | 0.37 | % |
| 24 | SVB Leerink | 50 | 1 | 0.37 | % |
Top Deals Of 2019 by Front End Returns (from IPO to deal closing)
| SPAC | NewCo | Units net return from $10 IPO | Annualized unit return from IPO | |||
| 1 | Health Sciences Acquisition | Immunovant | 55.40 | % | 106.43 | % |
| 2 | Churchill Capital I | Clarivate | 51.10 | % | 83.58 | % |
| 3 | Thunder Bridge Acquisition | REPAY | 56.60 | % | 52.66 | % |
| 4 | Haymaker Acquisition I | OneSpaWorld | 30.55 | % | 21.02 | % |
| 5 | Chardan Healthcare Acquisition | BiomX | 14.00 | % | 16.23 | % |
| 6 | Trinity Merger Corp. | Broadmark | 24.20 | % | 15.53 | % |
| 7 | Twelve Seas Investment Corp. | Brooge | 22.40 | % | 14.41 | % |
| 8 | Social Capital Hedosophia | Virgin Galactic | 28.60 | % | 12.65 | % |
| 9 | MTech Acquisition | Akerna | 16.80 | % | 11.93 | % |
| 10 | New Frontier Corporation | New Frontier Health | 16.70 | % | 11.05 | % |
Note: Past performance is no guarantee of future results
Top Performing Deals Of 2019 by Current Stock Price
| SPAC | NewCo | Current stock price | ||
| 1 | Churchill Capital I | Clarivate | $19.27 | |
| 2 | Social Capital Hedosophia | Virgin Galactic | $17.37 | |
| 3 | Health Sciences Acquisition | Immunovant | $16.34 | |
| 4 | Thunder Bridge Acquisition | REPAY | $16.17 | |
| 5 | Haymaker Acquisition I | OneSpaWorld | $15.71 | |
| 6 | DFB Healthcare Acquisitions | AdaptHealth | $12.60 | |
| 7 | Trinity Merger Corp. | Broadmark | $12.47 | |
| 8 | TPG Pace Holdings | Accel Entertainment | $12.08 | |
2019 SPAC Legal League Tables (https://www.spacresearch.com/legal)
| Rank | Counsel | Legal Assignments by Volume ($MM) |
Deal Count (Total) |
Deal Count (Issuer Counsel) |
Deal Count (Underwriter Counsel) |
% Share | |
| 1 | Ellenoff Grossman & Schole | 7,305 | 33 | 21 | 12 | 26.9 | % |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3,166 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 11.6 | % |
| 3 | Graubard Miller | 3,120 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 11.5 | % |
| 4 | Ropes & Gray | 2,769 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 10.2 | % |
| 5 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | 2,355 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8.7 | % |
| 6 | Winston & Strawn | 2,234 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8.2 | % |
| 7 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges | 944 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3.5 | % |
| 8 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 940 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.5 | % |
| 9 | Loeb & Loeb | 758 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2.8 | % |
| 10 | Shearman & Sterling | 739 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2.7 | % |
| 11 | Greenberg Traurig | 633 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.3 | % |
| 12 | Vinson & Elkins | 547 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | % |
| 13 | Ledgewood PC | 467 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.7 | % |
| 14 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | 331 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.2 | % |
| 15 | Latham & Watkins | 230 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.9 | % |
| 16 | Crowell & Moring | 173 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.6 | % |
| 17 | Schiff Hardin | 173 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.6 | % |
| 18 | Scarinci & Hollenbeck | 115 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.4 | % |
| 19 | Mayer Brown | 100 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.4 | % |
| 20 | Becker & Poliakoff | 58 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | % |
| 21 | Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li | 46 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 | % |
About DealFlow Events
When it comes to the business of finance, the tag line “A DealFlow Event” is widely recognized as a symbol of quality. We’ve produced over 200 conferences, seminars, and webcasts on a variety of financial topics over the last 17 years. These events are the signature programs in their respective markets, offering high-quality content and unequaled professional networking opportunities. Since 2008, The SPAC Conference, hosted by DealFlow Events, has offered the largest gathering of investors, bankers and management teams in the business. For more information about DealFlow Events, visit www.dealflowevents.com.
Media Contact:
Phillip LoFaso
President
DealFlow Events
[email protected]
516-876-8006 ext. 28
About SPAC Research
SPAC Research is an independent data service performing custom research on US-listed SPACs for asset managers, bankers and sponsors. SPAC Research also provides a comprehensive data set on each US-listed SPAC including a synopsis of all SEC Filings and press releases through a SPAC's life cycle. Information provided by SPAC Research is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment.
Media Contact:
Benjamin Kwasnick
Founder & CEO
[email protected]
(773) 669-5148
