After U.S. SPAC frenzy, blank-check firms eye deals in Europe’s burgeoning tech sector

After U.S. SPAC frenzy, blank-check firms eye deals in Europe’s burgeoning tech sector

 LONDON “” The SPAC craze is starting to gain some momentum in Europe.  After a banner year for so-called special purpose acquisition companies in the U.S., a growing number of blank-check firms are raising funds with the intention of snapping up a European tech company.SPACs are shell companies that are created with the sole purpose of raising funds to acquire an existing private company, so that the target firm can bypass the traditional initial public offering (IPO) process.These blank-check companies raised a total of $78.2 billion across 244 IPOs in the U.S. last year, according to data from Refinitiv. The U.S. SPAC mania continued into 2021, with another 134 firms raising nearly $39 billion since the start of the year.The attraction of SPACs is that they offer a way for companies to fast-track a stock market listing. An IPO can be a much longer process, and some firms are eschewing the traditional route to avoid potential swings in market sentiment. IPOs have also attracted criticism from venture capitalists like Ben Gurley, who worry they are being underpriced.SPACs provide an alternative to IPOs, as well as direct listings where firms sell existing shares to public market investors. They often attract high-growth tech