The Financial Conduct Authority has published its final changes to the Listing Rules in order to encourage SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) to list on the London Stock Exchange. The new rules will come into force on 10 August 2021.
The FCA consulted previously on the listing of SPACs, noting the need to balance investor protection with the desire to encourage SPACs to list on the Main Market.
A SPAC (or blank cheque company) is a shell company which raises cash through an initial public offering of its shares and lists, with the aim of using the funds raised to buy one or more companies later on. Prior to the new rules coming into force, there was a presumption that the FCA would suspend the listing of a SPAC when the SPAC identified a potential acquisition target. This was to protect investors from disorderly markets due to there being insufficient information available to the public at that stage. However, investors saw the suspension as detrimental as they could not then sell their shares, possibly for months.