, Columnist
The SPAC Is Dead. Meet Bill Ackman's SPARC
The hedge fund billionaire is using his SPAC funds to acquire a 10% stake in Universal Music Group. Why?
Bill Ackman has something up his sleeve.
Photographer: Christopher Goodney/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
What do you do when enthusiasm for blank-check companies is waning, but you still have $4 billion burning a hole in your pocket?
For hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, the answer is to use most of the money for a different kind of deal. He’s also proposing another twist on special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, where investors give a shell corporation funds to buy an unidentified target.