by Klaus Schachinger, €uro on Sunday
P eInside for Wall Street guru Bill Ackman: Two years after the launch of his shell Pershing Square Tontine, Equipped with four billion dollars for the takeover of a promising floor debut, the star investor is now obliged to pay back the money to all those who have invested in his SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle). Ackman was unable to find an attractive company willing to go public within the time limit set for SPACs. SPACs are an alternative to the traditional IPO.
Ackman is said to have caught a big fish. In the months leading up to Airbnb’s IPO in December 2020, he negotiated with Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky. However, he waved it off and later made an impressive debut on the stock exchange despite the high valuation. 2020 and 2021 were also very successful years for SPACs before the market, like the IPO business, collapsed in the current year. Ackman’s failure is prominent evidence of the ongoing poor state of the SPAC market.
The Swedish payment service provider has landed hard on the ground of reality Klarna. In a new round of funding, Europe’s once-highest-valued fintech raised $800 million, but had to accept a valuation of $6.7 billion, around 85 percent less than the $45.6 billion in the June 2021 funding round.
The Swedes started with online payment processing and gradually adapted their technology to credit card and bank account transactions. Fintechs and start-ups currently have to accept significantly lower valuations for their financing rounds and greatly reduce their costs.
Ray of light from Norway
The Norwegian fertilizer company provides a ray of hope for the IPO business in the second half of the year yara, currently exploring an IPO for its green ammonia business. Yara wants to remain the main shareholder in the long term.
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€uro-stock market indicator
Image Credits: Richard Drew/AP
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