While SPACs have had a long market presence, the industry has grown rapidly in recent years in response to the shrinking number of IPOs, the growth in the pipeline of large private companies driven by venture capital and private equity and increasing institutional investor interest in SPAC mergers.

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Since 2020, there have been nearly 600 domestic SPAC IPOs with over $200 billion in total proceeds. Thus far in 2021, there have been nearly 200 announced and closed transactions totaling around $500 billion in enterprise value. As of H1, 2021, SPACs accounted for 62% of all IPOs in the U.S. excluding BDCs, Funds and companies below $50 million in market capitalization.

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The growth of the industry has attracted media attention, academic interest and calls for more regulatory oversight to ensure the health of the industry and safeguard the myriad stakeholders from bad actors. Often, complex issues and performance data have been reduced to a soundbite resulting in adverse impact on investors, private companies and SPACs. The industry has had limited engagement with regulators due to the lack of an association representing the viewpoints of all stakeholders.