SPACInsider

This week, in a special edition of the SPACInsider Podcast, SPACInsider founder Kristi Marvin speaks with Omeed Malik, Chairman and CEO of the Colombier SPACs.

She asks Omeed what brought him into the SPAC market and how his first SPAC, Colombier I, navigated the rapidly changing market as it closed in on its combination with PublicSquare (NYSE:PSQH).

He discusses the opportunity and risks at play in targeting companies in the "patriot economy" in a politically-charged environment. And, as a part of the new crop of serial SPAC sponsors that recently priced a second IPO with Colombier II (NYSE: CLBR.U), how does he see the product developing into 2024 and what changes could benefit sponsors, investors and targets alike?

This week, we speak with iLearningEngine’s CEO Harish Chidambaran and Matt Safaii, Chairman and CEO of Arrowroot Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ARRW). The two announced a $1.4 billion deal in April.

AI may be the major buzzword of 2023, but iLearningEngines has been working on AI tools since 2010. Now, it hopes to use a SPAC transaction as its next step.

Harish explains how the company has developed a profitable AI platform with very little outside funding through the years, and how SPAC cash and public share capital can accelerate its growth through an M&A campaign.

Additionally, Matt tells us how Arrowroot’s long relationship with iLearningEngines gives it confidence in how the company will be valued in the public markets.

This week, we get into both sides of a SPAC transaction in the form of Kirk Taylor. He helped steer American Acquisition Opportunity and now serves as CFO of Royalty Management Holdings (Nasdaq: RMCO), with which the SPAC merged in early November.

Royalty Management has crafted a portfolio of royalty streams from mining operations as well as some industries like water treatment where such financings are novel.

Kirk discusses how the engagement with investors has gone as the teams advanced their transaction through the de-SPAC process and what new opportunities Royalty Management is seeking now that the deal is closed.

This week, we speak with Esteban Saldarriaga, CEO of LatAm Logistics Properties and Tom Hennessy, Chairman and CEO of the SPAC, two (NYSE: TWOA).

The pair announced a $578 million combination in August. Esteban explains why the timing is particularly attractive to do a SPAC deal to accelerate his company’s portfolio expansion in the current market climate and what opportunities and challenges lie in the industrial real estate space in the Latin American region.

Tom also explains how the deal came together for his team, which used a unique approach of taking over an existing SPAC to get the transaction done. 

This week, we speak with J. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy, which announced a $1.18 billion combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation in December 2022.

Wind and solar have each seen big booms in adoption in the 21st century due to a mix of technology and incentives aligning at the same time. Could it once again be nuclear power’s turn?

Clay tells us how innovative smaller-reactor designs can carve out a new place in the energy mix for utilities and industrial clients alike. And, how X-energy’s focus on proprietary nuclear fuel has brought a new business model to the space.

Biotech firms tend to come on to SPACs’ radar when they still have some clinical work to complete to get to an approved medicine or device, but Avertix is ahead of that particular curve.

This week, we speak with Tim Moran, President and CEO of Avertix, and Ross Haghighat, CEO and CFO of BioPlus Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: BIOS). The two announced a $195 million dollar combination in May of this year.

Tim tells us how Avertix’s Guardian heart monitoring implant has performed in its initial commercial rollout, having already been approved by the FDA and for insurance reimbursements. 

Ross meanwhile explains why being at that stage of the process was important for BioPlus’ criteria given the current market conditions and what further value streams could be unlocked by the Guardian device long term.

Sustainable materials are starting to take a bite out of the share of single-use plastics in circulation, but replacing the full $600 billion plastics market is going to take more innovation and much more capital.

This week, we speak Brian Gordon, President and COO of Verde Bioresins and Jin-Goon Kim, Chairman and CEO of TLGY Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: TLGY). The two announced a $433 million combination in June.

Brian explains why he believes Verde is closer to scaling up a viable plastic replacement than many of its competitors, while Jin-Goon explains how TLGY designed this transaction to be accountable to private equity-style benchmarks and also be attractive to SPAC investors through the de-SPAC process.

Renewable energy sources have long been pressed on the fact that most can only supply power for certain portions of the day. But, what if you could combine multiple renewable technologies into a refinery that had round-the-clock output?

This week we speak with Craig Wood, CEO of Vast, and Guillermo Sierra, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Nabors Energy Transition Corp. (NYSE: NETC). The pair announced a $250 million business combination in February.

Craig explains how Vast is fine-tuning its concentrated solar power platform to work in conjunction with traditional solar, batteries and hydrogen to put forward a new kind of renewable project.

Guillermo also tells us how Nabors Energy is leveraging its existing network to develop strategic benefits to Vast through this SPAC deal and beyond.

As companies find new ways of automating business processes with AI, a new AI-driven approach to auto insurance is heading West from India with the help of a SPAC deal.

This week, we speak Rohan Malhotra, CEO and co-founder of Roadzen and Steven Carlson from the sponsor of Vahanna Tech Edge Acquisition I Corp. (Nasdaq: VHNA) The two announced a $965 million combination in February. 

Rohan discusses how Roadzen’s disruptive technology cultivated in India is already making major improvements to its margins as it enters more lucrative Western markets. And, how this combination can fuel both its organic and inorganic expansion

While Steven discusses why SPACs need to have a different fundraising and target strategy in the current market conditions.

This week, we get an update from Brandon Mintz, CEO of Bitcoin Depot, which recently closed its SPAC combination with GSR II Meteora Acquisition Corp. in June.

Brandon shares what advice he has for other companies considering a SPAC merger in the current market and discusses how Bitcoin Depot is hitting the ground running with its acquisition pipeline now that it has public capital at its disposal. 

Plus, we hear how Bitcoin Depot's position as the sole public company in the Bitcoin ATM space will give it strategic advantages moving forward.

Give it a listen