Forget Spac IPOs – it’s their M&A needs that make your eyes water

For anyone tempted to see the wave of IPOs for special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) as anything other than a bubble, there is one sobering statistic to consider. Just to satisfy the 500-plus Spacs that have not yet announced an acquisition could require M&A volumes amounting to nearly $1 trillion.

In 2020, there were 256 Spac IPOs, raising $83 billion, according to Dealogic data. In 2021, there have already been 174 IPOs, raising $54 billion. Over that entire period, the average Spac IPO raised about $320 million.