Betting on the jockey rather than the horse : a study on the determinants of mergers of SPAC IPOs

Abstract: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are public shell entities uniquely constructed to acquire one or more privately held businesses. The transaction's structural characteristics put significant pressure on the management team's capabilities to find a suitable company to acquire within the predetermined time frame. This thesis investigates whether management team characteristics, such as operating experience and gender diversity, increases the likelihood of success in identifying the target company and conducting the merger. Although not statistically significant, the results indicate that SPACs led by “C-suite” operators do not have a higher likelihood of successfully consummating a business combination. Furthermore, our data indicates gender diversity to have a positive impact on acquisition likelihood.