Harry Sloan, Jeff Sagansky scrap IPO plans for SPAC venture (updated)

Bold Eagle Acquisition

06/04/2022 16:40

(Adds details from filing, background)
    April 6 (Reuters) - Blank-check firm Spinning Eagle
Acquisition Corp, backed by former Hollywood executives Harry
Sloan and Jeff Sagansky, on Wednesday filed to withdraw its U.S.
initial public offering of up to $2 billion. 
    The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which in
June last year upsized its offering from $1.5 billion, did not
disclose the reason for the withdrawal.
    Spinning Eagle joins a slew of companies which have canceled
offerings this year at a time when volatility in the U.S. market
has jumped due to rate hike concerns, geopolitical tensions and
a sell-off in technology stocks.  
    Last year, another blank-check vehicle backed by Sloan and
Sagansky agreed to take biotech firm Ginkgo  DNA.N  public at a
$17.5 billion valuation. Ginkgo shares have shed over 50% of
their market capitalization so far this year. 
    Investor sentiment around the alternative route to list that
had taken Wall Street by storm in 2020, has recently seen a
pullback in interest, and heightened regulatory scrutiny after
shares of several companies which merged with SPACs tumbled
after going public.
    The U.S. securities regulator recently unveiled a new draft
rule that would require SPACs to disclose more details about
their listings, in a bid to curb companies from issuing overly
optimistic earnings projections.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2VX2J6
    A SPAC is a listed firm with no business operations but
raise money for the purpose of merging with a private company
and taking it public.

 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com;))