Yeah, this is the key context: people have argued that they're essentially a way of capturing all the value of a "going public" event to a smaller audience than a traditional IPO.
>"While the normal IPO process starts with a private business who wants to go public, a SPAC is the opposite: it starts with a public business, that is nothing.
A SPAC begins its life when a well-known promoter, like Chamath or Bill Ackman, raises money in an IPO with the following prospectus:
“I am raising money to take a company public. I don’t know which one yet; the money is going to go in a bag until I find one. When I do, my publicly traded bag of money will merge with the private business, and in doing so, take them public. You, the investors, will have your SPAC shares convert to shares in the new business, at an attractively negotiated price, plus warrants to buy more so you can profit on the upside.
Because I’m so smart, I’m going to pick a business that’s amazing and that you’ll want to own. If you disagree, you’ll have a chance to get your money back. But if I’m right, you’ll make a ton on the upside.”"
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