Capabilities / Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Providing sophisticated, comprehensive legal counsel on complex deal structures.
After a lull in the usage of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), entrepreneurs and investors have returned to SPACs in force over the past year, raising more capital in 2020 for SPACs than in the prior ten years combined. Husch Blackwell’s transactional teams have helped lead the way, representing both buyers and sellers in complex SPAC transactions.
Due to the complexities involved in SPAC-led transactions, our firm brings together a multi-disciplinary group of lawyers in order to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end team capable of addressing the interconnected legal challenges these deals present, including M&A, corporate and securities, capital markets, antitrust, intellectual property and employee benefits and executive compensation. Importantly, our firm’s industry-first structure allows our deal teams to draw on a wealth of industry-specific regulatory expertise, especially in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, food and agribusiness and energy and natural resources.
Sponsors
Our attorneys handle SPAC-related legal and business challenges for sponsors at all phases of operations. Our corporate and securities teams assist sponsors in structuring SPACs—including industry-themed SPACs—and in preparing and executing initial public offerings. Crucially, at the earliest stages, our combined team provides sponsors with access to Husch Blackwell’s robust network of investment bankers, accountants and other deal professionals who have significant experience with both SPACs and the array of middle-market private companies that are frequently acquisition targets, helping our sponsor clients identify potential deals more quickly and efficiently.
Increasingly, SPAC sponsors serve as agents of consolidation within various industries, using their financial resources to roll up smaller operating companies into a larger, publicly traded entity. Our SPAC team is well acquainted with these complex, multi-target transactions and can assist clients from the pre-IPO stage through to the de-SPAC process, including business combination agreements, registration statements, and follow-on PIPE transactions to meet post-SPAC financing needs.
Acquisition Targets
Our team has decades of experience assisting clients on sell-side transactions, particularly middle-market privately owned businesses. Husch Blackwell is recognized by Legal 500 as a leading middle-market M&A firm and advises companies at all phases of dealmaking, from the initial approach through to closing.
For equity owners actively seeking an exit, our team provides advice that helps prepare companies for sale. In the SPAC context, we use our deep public company experience and industry-first approach to help private businesses overcome potential regulatory hurdles to consummating a transaction. In all instances, we leverage our network of financial and strategic buyers for the benefit of our sell-side clients, generating transaction opportunities and using our market knowledge to assist in the sale process.
Underwriters & Placement Agents
Husch Blackwell routinely serves as underwriters’ counsel in securities offerings and represents placement agents in PIPE transactions. We provide clients with a deep perspective on counterparty risk, using our industry knowledge, sound judgment, and related regulatory experience to help structure and draft agreements that preserve value and manage risk.