JUNE 11, 2024
4:00 PM
Registration opens in the late afternoon
4:40 PM - 4:45 PM
Welcoming Remarks
4:45 PM - 5:05 PM
Presentation
Unlocking SPAC Potential: Charting a Course for Success
- Overview of the tumultuous SPAC transactions in the past few years
- Reasons people left and returned to SPACs
- Why the future of SPACs is bright and how to maximize its potential
5:05 PM - 5:25 PM
Presentation
IPOs at Historic Lows: Will Bank Underwriting Fees Begin to Stabilize?
- Discussion of SPACs for growth capital in small-cap and mid-cap companies
- Business combinations for deploying capital
- Supporting data to prove SPACs are back
5:25 PM - 5:45 PM
Presentation
Elements of a Seamless and Successful SPAC Transaction
- Defining the elements of a seamless SPAC transaction
- How to gauge success throughout the journey
- Communicating with the key players in a successful SPAC transaction
5:45 PM - 6:10 PM
Presentation
Getting to the Finish Line With deSPAC Mergers
- Considerations in deSPAC mergers
- Getting all the elements together for success
- Focus on regulations, compliance, and moving forward after deSPAC
6:10 PM - 6:15 PM
Closing Statement
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Dinner, speakers and entertainment
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Party on the Patio (Sponsored by The Cotto Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley & BlackRock)
JUNE 12, 2024
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Opening Remarks
9:20 AM - 9:40 AM
Presentation
State of The Market - SPACs Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
- Review the recent SPAC history and reasons for highs and lows
- Current SPAC deals revealing successes and failures
- What the SPAC market looks like for 2024 and beyond
9:45 AM - 10:05 AM
Presentation
Let the SPAC Pendulum Swing: What's in Store for Q3 and Q4
- Overview of current SPAC conditions
- Projections about Q3 and Q4
- Data to support the future of SPACs
10:10 AM - 10:45 AM
Round Table
Getting Better SPAC Deals Done in 2024 and Beyond
- Better and best practices for marketing the transaction and converting the shareholder base
- Managing dilutive instruments in the capital structure, optimizing liquidity and float, and transacting with smaller and/or aging SPACs
- Optimizing readiness, governance and transaction management
10:45 AM - 11:15 AM
Networking Break
11:20 AM - 12:05 PM
Panel
The Pressure to Complete a Transaction
- Synergy of communications and navigating expectations
- deSPAC and breaking down the barriers
- Understanding the runway of time, evidence of filings and risks
12:10 PM - 12:30 PM
Presentation
SPACs by the Numbers
- Overview of market issuance and conditions
- Trends in dealmaking and financing
- Trading and market dynamics
12:35 PM - 12:55 PM
Presentation
Heading Down the PIPEline to SPACs
- New SEC guidelines impact on PIPE deals to fund SPACs pursuant to IPOs
- Differences in deal structure and liability mitigation
- Comparisons to previous practices
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Lunch
2:00 PM - 2:35 PM
Panel
SPAC-tavism - When Shareholder Activism and SPACs Meet
- Discussion of the new wave of activism in SPACs
- Importance of board selection and other activist factors
- Using SPAC-tivism to fuel success
2:35 PM - 3:00 PM
Presentation
Is a SPAC Renaissance Imminent? The Regulatory and Political Impact on SPAC Evolution
- SPAC history and evolution based on regulatory and political factors
- Future projections based on SEC regulations and post-election
- Discussion of a potential SPAC Renaissance and its possible impact
3:00 PM - 3:25 PM
Fireside
Facing SPAC Regulations Effectively: Liabilities and Risks in SPACs
- Discussion of Safe Harbor elimination extension on financial projections
- Mitigating risks, voting for extensions, and the pressure to deSPAC
- Overview of recent redemption rates and balancing the future
3:25 PM - 3:55 PM
Networking Break
3:55 PM - 4:40 PM
Panel
Is SPAC a Four-Letter Word? SPAC Comeback on the Horizon
- SPAC ups and downs with a review of the SPAC and deSPAC market
- Due diligence tips for successful SPACs, risks to watch for, common pitfalls
- How are recent deSPACs likely to fare in the next year or two?
4:40 PM - 5:05 PM
Fireside
Deep Dive: The Cost of Compliance in SPACs
- Impact of SPAC sponsor track history disclosure on co-sponsor deals
- Structural and financial changes target companies need for SEC compliance
- Cost of fees in SPAC deals now versus pre and during the pandemic
5:05 PM - 5:25 PM
Fireside
Taking it to the Street: Reverse Mergers and Cross-Border SPAC Transactions
- Cross-border SPAC transactions and what's happening in other countries
- Going offshore and going public in the US
- Essential SPAC digital marketing preparations to be completed before transaction closing
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Cocktail Reception
THE AGENDA
The SPAC Conference is the place where the industry’s thought-leaders gather to discuss near-term strategies for deal-making and long-term trends in the market. Attendees will learn from the most experienced and respected professionals working in SPACs today. Their panels and presentations give context to the current state of the market, while considering the future of what’s to come and how best to prepare.
Here are just a few of The SPAC Conference 2024 topics in development
SPAC liability under Inflation Reduction Act
- Blank-check firms would pay a 1% excise tax on redemptions
- What is the liability for SPAC sponsors if the company is unable to pay?
- Impact on investors
- Stressors this can place on deal making
Reducing deSPAC litigation risks
- Post-merger shareholder lawsuits on the rise
- Case examples and the cause of action behind them
- Fostering transparency from the point of deal announcement
- Types of disclosure lapses (especially SPAC sponsor payouts) that lead to trouble
Why a PIPE raise is more important in 2024 than ever before
- Skittish shareholders redeemed stock at a higher rate in 2023 than in the three years preceding
- Shrinking trust accounts represent a vote of no-confidence, putting deals at risk
- PIPE funds now an integral part of most deals with a minimum cash condition
- Don’t wait: Why it’s better to pursue a PIPE soon after the SPAC IPO, not months later
Convincing shareholders to stick with the deal
- SPACs seeing higher redemptions when management strays from initial acquisition thesis
- Selling shareholders on the deal long before the vote
- Using proactive communication to promote shareholder loyalty
- Renewing focus not on reaching just a deal, but securing the right deal
Positioning for an advantage after “too-hot” SPAC market
- Natural selection is sorting out the once red-hot SPAC market
- Why this creates opportunity for quality SPACs to do deals while others fade away
- What sponsors should do from the onset to attract and retain investors
- Lessons learned from the over-saturated SPAC market of recent years
Improving proxy preparation
- The value of crafting a concise, candid proxy with less legalese (while covering all legal bases)
- Shareholder messaging that grabs attention and persuades
- Including compelling information on why the acquisition is good for the SPAC’s investors
- Why calling an extension vote is meaningless without disclosure of merger efforts to-date
NRAs are killing sponsor profits (and what to do about it)
- Non-redemption agreements continue to eat into founders’ shares, reducing management’s profit on an eventual deal
- Why NRAs are really just the SPAC equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a Band-Aid
- SPACs with secured PIPEs typically have less need to fall back on NRAs
- Insights on reducing the chance an NRA will become necessary
Sectors to watch in 2024
- The expectation of easing Fed rates should accelerate interest in private companies going public
- Is this the year for ESG to shine?
- Have electrical vehicle companies, both terrestrial and aerial, already had their day in the sun?
- Investors remain wary of tech and biotech firms (burn me once, shame on you; but burn me twice….)
Can anything be done to control SPAC costs?
- With IPOs at historic lows, will banks’ underwriting fees begin to stabilize?
- Managing legal and accounting expenses
- Are warrants to early institutional investors sustainable in the current environment?
- How sponsor shares are calculated and impact on stockholders
What to learn from hedge funds making money off SPACs
- SPACs offer potential returns for limited risk, an appealing quality for hedge funds
- Confidence: retail investors may view hedge fund-backed SPACs as a better investment
- Hedge funds understand dilution from free warrants and other perks given to early investors before committing
- The paradox: why hedge fund strategies work only if other investors believe a SPAC will find a viable merger partner
