This article by Louis Lehot originally appeared on todaysgeneralcounsel.com on June 01, 2021: SPACs V. IPOs
The concept is an old idea, dating back to at least the late 19th century, when Henry Villard sought to raise capital to buy the Northern Pacific Railroad without revealing the name of the target company. Modern-day SPACs have existed since the mid-1990s. Today, these investment vehicles have been used across industries, from a manufacturer of electric cars to an aerospace startup to a cryptocurrency mining company.
