Alternative Financing Strategies: SPAC Public Offerings, PIPE Transactions, and Listings on Foreign Stock Exchanges

In an era of greater expenses associated with becoming a publicly traded company, CFOs are taking a close look at the merits of going public via reverse mergers with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and venture capitalists are revisiting exits through reverse mergers. Additionally, public companies continue to raise capital from private sources through private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions.

This presentation explored alternative financing strategies. We also discussed the advantages and pitfalls of raising capital on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and other foreign exchanges. The program addressed:

• Using SPAC offerings and PIPE financings with reverse mergers
  
• Structuring deals to minimize discounts from public-market prices
  
• Optimizing the value of warrant issuances 
  
• Exploring listings on foreign exchanges through AIM or its equivalents

These and other issues were addressed in an informal, interactive session led by Steve Levine, president of EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., a leading SPAC investment banking firm, and Foley Business Law Partners Paul D. Broude, Gabor Garai, and Sven Riethmueller.

“Alternative Financing Strategies: SPAC Public Offerings, PIPE Transactions, and Listings on Foreign Stock Exchanges” is part of Foley’s 2007 Boston Executive Briefings Series.