Deal Making in 2020 Was All About the SPAC

Deal Making in 2020 Was All About the SPAC

DealBook Business and PolicyDealBook NewsletterThe Year in Deals Can Be Summed Up in 4 LettersThis year was all about the SPAC.Chamath Palihapitiya is among those who have made serial SPAC-raising a big business.Credit...Brendan McDermid/ReutersBy Michael J. de la MercedThe DealBook newsletter delves into a single topic or theme every weekend, providing reporting and analysis that offers a better understanding of a big issue in the news. If you don't already receive the daily newsletter, sign up here.ImageCashing blank checksIt was a difficult year for deal makers to describe. Early on, the pandemic made the notion of corporate takeovers seem, for a few months, like something from a lost era. But then came a burst of activity like few had ever seen before, even as the health crisis raged.Amid the twists and turns, the single biggest thing on merger advisers' minds can be summed up in four letters: SPAC.Short for special purpose acquisition companies, these publicly traded shells are created solely to merge with a privately held business, giving the takeover target a ready-made listing without having to stage an initial public offering. Once dismissed as a shady Wall Street relic, SPACs have since become the hottest tickets in M.&A. (In