In this article, we discuss 10 best SPACs to buy now according to Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital.
Glenn Russell Dubin is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who founded Highbridge Capital Management with his childhood friend Henry Swieca in 1992. Highbridge Capital is a New York-based hedge fund that primarily invests in special purpose acquisition companies and blank check companies.
Glenn Dubin is an alumnus of Stony Brook University, graduating with a Bachelor’s in economics in 1978. His career in finance began the same year as a retail stock broker at E. F. Hutton & Co. There, Dubin worked with Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment Corp. After his stint at E. F. Hutton & Co., he established Dubin & Swieca Capital Management in 1984 with Henry Swieca, which was rebranded as Corbin Capital Partners in 2005 after the founders took their leave from the operational side of the firm.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), purchased a majority stake in Highbridge Capital Management for $1.3 billion in 2004, and took over the entirety of the firm from the original owners in 2009. Glenn Dubin still remained the chief executive officer after the transaction was completed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
Glenn Dubin founded Engineers Gate Manager LP in 2013, a quantitative hedge fund based in New York. However, in the beginning of 2020, he retired from hedge fund management entirely to focus on his private investments.
According to fourth quarter 13F filings, Highbridge Capital Management has a $4.5 billion portfolio. The hedge fund has discretionary assets under management of $6.4 billion and a top 10 holdings concentration of 18.25%. In Q4 2021, Highbridge Capital purchased 285 new securities, discarded 75 stocks, reduced holdings in 100 companies, and made additional purchases in 118 equities.
SPAC Market Outlook 2022
Special purpose acquisition companies were all the rage in 2021, considered to be an attractive alternative for initial public offerings. The number of new IPOs in 2021 exceeded 1,000, and more than 59% of the total listings were SPAC IPOs. From 2015 to 2019, approximately 92% of all SPACs completed acquisitions, and it took almost two years to find suitable target companies.
In 2021, only 18 SPAC mergers fell through during the year. However, in the first three months of 2022 alone, 13 SPAC mergers have failed in the United States, valued at roughly $9.5 billion. SPAC Research suggested that only 24 SPAC mergers, valued at $28.3 billion have been declared in Q1 2022, compared to 93 transactions worth $233 billion in the prior-year quarter. SPACs seem riskier to investors since many IPOs in the last year that were initiated via SPACs have not fared well in 2022.
The SPAC market is expected to find itself under heavy scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2022. On March 30, the SEC declared that SPACs would have to enhance their disclosures to protect the interests of investors. Moreover, there is a tightened market for SPAC PIPE financing. SEC commissioner Hester Peirce stated that the SEC’s new regulations seem “designed to stop SPACs in their tracks.”
The future of IPOs does not depend on SPACs entirely. Many big names today have in fact rejected SPACs when it comes to going public. For example, billionaire Bill Ackman approached Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) for an IPO via his SPAC, but the company chose the traditional IPO route in December 2020 instead. While many companies choose to go public without blank check firms, some of the most notable names that went public via special purpose acquisition companies include SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI), Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN), and DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG).
Glenn Russell Dubin of Highbridge Capital Management
Our Methodology
We used the fourth quarter portfolio of Highbridge Capital Management to enlist the top 10 SPACs owned by the hedge fund. We have ranked the list according to Highbridge Capital’s stake value in each holding.
Best SPACs to Buy Now According to Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital
10. Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. V (NYSE:KCGI)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $21,859,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.47%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. V (NYSE:KCGI) was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Westbury, New York. The special purpose acquisition company plans to focus its search for business combinations in the North American and European industrials sector.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital added Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. V to its portfolio by purchasing 2.2 million shares worth $21.85 million.
Companies like SoFi Technologies, Inc., Opendoor Technologies Inc., and DraftKings Inc. went public via blank check companies, which increases institutional and retail interest in SPACs such as Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. V.
9. Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE:ASZ)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $23,671,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.51%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE:ASZ) was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The special purpose acquisition company targets companies for business combinations in the financial technology, information, and business services sectors. Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II has no operations and no revenues as of now.
13F filings for Q4 2021 by Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital disclose that the hedge fund owns 2.4 million shares of Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II, worth $23.6 million, representing 0.51% of the total portfolio. Highbridge Capital Management increased its stake in the company by 6% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Insider Monkey’s Q4 database suggests that Paul Glazer’s Glazer Capital is the biggest stakeholder of Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II, with 7.8 million shares worth more than $76 million.
8. CF Acquisition Corp. VIII (NASDAQ:CFFE)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $23,703,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.51%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
CF Acquisition Corp. VIII (NASDAQ:CFFE) is a New York-based SPAC that was established in 2020 with the purpose of forming a business combination, particularly in the financial services, healthcare, real estate, technology, and software industries. The company has not generated any revenue yet. CF Acquisition Corp. VIII’s initial public offering raised $250 million by selling 25 million shares at $10 per unit.
Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management is the biggest position holder in CF Acquisition Corp. VIII as of Q4 2021, with 2.3 million shares worth $23.70 million. The stock accounts for 0.51% of the total 13F holdings and the hedge fund boosted its position by 5% in the December quarter.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Jeffrey Tannenbaum’s Fir Tree is a prominent shareholder of CF Acquisition Corp. VIII as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, with 1.12 million shares valued at $11.1 million.
7. Project Energy Reimagined Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:PEGR)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $24,118,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Incorporated in 2021 and based in Redwood City, California, Project Energy Reimagined Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:PEGR) is a blank check company that was created with the purpose of multiple business combinations in the renewable energy industry. Project Energy Reimagined Acquisition Corp. targets firms with high ESG scores regardless of their geographical locations. The company’s initial public offering of 25 million common shares was priced at $10.00 per unit, and the market share as of April 18 is $322.4 million.
Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital added Project Energy Reimagined Acquisition Corp. to its fourth quarter portfolio by purchasing 2.4 million shares worth $24.1 million, representing 0.52% of the total 13F securities.
6. Churchill Capital Corp VII (NYSE:CVII)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $24,164,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Churchill Capital Corp VII (NYSE:CVII) is a New York-based special purpose acquisition company that was formed in 2020. Created with the intent of effecting mergers, corporate restructurings, and asset acquisitions, Churchill Capital Corp VII has yet to generate revenues or carry out a business combination.
India’s most valuable ed tech company, Byju, is in talks with multiple SPACs including Churchill Capital Corp VII to go public via an initial public offering. Churchill Capital Corp VII also offered Byju distribution relationships in the United States with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management held 2.45 million shares of Churchill Capital Corp VII, worth $24.1 million, representing 0.52% of the total 13F securities. Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital owned the leading stake in the company, with more than 11 million shares valued at $110.8 million.
Churchill Capital Corp VII is a notable SPAC to look out for, and it aims to publicly list companies in the near future, just like SoFi Technologies, Inc., Opendoor Technologies Inc., and DraftKings Inc..
5. CONX Corp. (NASDAQ:CONX)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $23,086,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.50%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
CONX Corp. (NASDAQ:CONX) is based in Littleton, Colorado, operating as a blank check company that was formed to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combinations. CONX Corp. targets companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.
Charlie Ergen, chairman and co-founder of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH), founded CONX Corp. in 2020. The company’s initial public offering raised $750 million, selling 75 million shares at $10 each. Previously, CONX Corp. was looking for a $1 billion IPO.
Securities filings for Q4 2021 reveal that Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital owns 2.35 million shares of CONX Corp., worth over $23 million, representing 0.50% of the total 13F holdings. The hedge fund increased its stake in the company by 1% in the fourth quarter. Highbridge Capital invested in CONX Corp. in the beginning of 2021.
According to the fourth quarter database of Insider Monkey, 38 hedge funds were bullish on CONX Corp., compared to 37 funds in the prior quarter. The total stakes owned in Q4 amounted to approximately $411 million. Josh Resnick’s Jericho Capital Asset Management is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 4 million shares worth $39.2 million.
4. Epiphany Technology Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:EPHY)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $24,601,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.53%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Epiphany Technology Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:EPHY) is a technology-themed special purpose acquisition company that was established in 2020 and is based in Burlingame, California. The SPAC aims for business combinations with one or more companies. On January 21, Epiphany Technology Acquisition Corp. closed its initial public offering of 40.25 million shares, which were sold at $10 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $402.5 million.
Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital, as of Q4 2021, owns 2.5 million shares of Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital, worth $24.6 million, representing 0.53% of the total 13F portfolio.
3. Northern Star Investment Corp. II (NYSE:NSTB)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $26,502,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.57%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Northern Star Investment Corp. II (NYSE:NSTB) is a New York-based blank check company that targets businesses in the media, technology, beauty, e-commerce, and online sectors. The company has not commenced any business operations yet.
Securities filings for the fourth quarter of 2021 reveal that Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital owns 2.73 million shares of Northern Star Investment Corp. II, worth $26.5 million, representing 0.57% of the total 13F securities. The hedge fund added Northern Star Investment Corp. II to its portfolio in the first quarter of 2021.
2. Hudson Executive Investment Corp. III (NASDAQ:HIII)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $27,815,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.60%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Hudson Executive Investment Corp. III (NASDAQ:HIII) is a blank check company that may pursue a business combination in any industry, sector, or geographic region. The company raised $600 million in its initial public offering in February 2021.
According to 13F filings from Q4 2021, Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital owns 2.8 million shares of Hudson Executive Investment Corp. III, worth $27.8 million, representing 0.60% of the total holdings. Glenn Dubin first added Hudson Executive Investment Corp. III to his portfolio in Q2 2021.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Robert Henry Lynch’s Aristeia Capital is a prominent stakeholder of Hudson Executive Investment Corp. III as of December 2021, with 2.6 million shares valued at $26.3 million.
1. Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PSTH)
Highbridge Capital Management’s Stake Value: $48,257,000
Percentage of Highbridge Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.05%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PSTH) is a New York-based blank check company that was formed in 2020 to carry out business combinations like mergers, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, and reorganization.
Latest 13F disclosures reveal that Glenn Dubin’s Highbridge Capital added Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. to its portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2021, buying 2.4 million shares worth $48.25 million, representing 1.05% of the total holdings.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group is a significant stakeholder of Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. as of Q4 2021, with 9.5 million shares worth $188.3 million. Overall, 55 hedge funds were bullish on the stock at the end of December 2021, holding collective stakes amounting to approximately $965 million.
Here is what Pershing Square Capital Management has to say about Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“While seeking a transaction for PSTH, we are simultaneously looking to improve its structure with the launch of SPARC.
SPARC seeks to improve upon PSTH’s structure:
✓ Investors opt-in to the initial business combination (“IBC”)
✓ Reduced opportunity cost with no investor funding until a target is identified
✓ Amount of capital raised can be precisely tailored to capital requirements of merger partner
✓ Up to 10 years to complete a transaction vs. 2 years for a typical SPAC
✓ No underwriting fees
✓ Pure common stock capital structure other than 20% out-of-the-money warrants on 5.21% of shares outstanding held by Pershing Square funds and SPARC directors
Timing of SPARC distribution assuming receipt of regulatory approval:
If PSTH executes an IBC before SPARC registration statement is declared effective, distribution of SPARs to PSTH shareholders and warrant holders would occur shortly prior to IBC closing.
If PSTH does not consummate an IBC, distribution would occur concurrently with return of PSTH capital in trust…” (Click here to see the full text)
You can also take a look at 7 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Bill Ackman and Top 9 Stocks Billionaire Larry Robbins Just Added to His Portfolio.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
