Liberty Media SPAC to unwind with no takeover goal

Liberty Media Acquisition Company (LMAC), a SPAC (particular goal acquisition firm) launched by media large Liberty Media two years in the past, is about to unwind by the top of the yr following a shareholder vote approving the transfer on Monday (November 14).

The choice comes as LMAC nonetheless has but to merge with a possible goal because it went public on the Nasdaq Inventory Change in January 2021. The corporate raised $575 million on the time.

Information of the shareholder vote’s final result was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

LMAC was established “to seek for a goal within the media, digital media, music, leisure, communications, telecommunications and know-how industries.”

For the reason that IPO, LMAC has “evaluated greater than 140 such goal companies,” the corporate mentioned in its proposal to wind down the enterprise issued to shareholders in October.

“In evaluating potential goal companies, our administration crew remained centered on discovering honest valuations amid risky market situations,” LMAC mentioned.

It added: “Our administration crew has noticed what it believes have been excessive valuations in 2021, a declining IPO market in 2022, and important private and non-private market volatility, which have prevented us from securing a possibility that we imagine will provide a compelling return on funding for our stockholder.”

The board additionally cited “current adjustments in US tax regulation” amongst different causes for the proposal. The adjustments are “anticipated to create company degree tax liabilities in reference to stockholder redemptions” from January 1, 2023.

SPACs have been prompted to shutter following the passage of US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Discount Act, which imposes a 1% excise tax on inventory ‘buybacks’ after December 31, 2022.

As a consequence of these elements, LMAC’s board determined to stop all of its operations and redeem all excellent public shares by December 30, LMAC mentioned.

“We’ve got decided that it isn’t possible for the corporate to finish an preliminary enterprise mixture” by the unique termination date on January 26, 2023.

As of Monday, LMAC was buying and selling at $10.02 and its market cap stood at $720.2 million.

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Later this month, shareholders of one other media-focused SPAC, The Music Acquisition Company (TMAC), are set to vote on a proposal to liquidate sooner than deliberate because it has didn’t merge with a possible goal firm over a yr because it went public.

TMAC was based by long-time Geffen Information President Neil Jacobson. It debuted on the New York Inventory Change in February final yr, elevating $230 million within the course of.

It comes because the SPAC growth appeared to have died down following the US Securities and Change Fee’s proposed new guidelines to impose extra disclosure necessities on IPOs by SPACs.

SPAC Analysis notes that nearly 50 SPACs within the US have liquidated as of Monday (November 14), with one other 40 deliberate for the rest of the yr. Liquidations in 2022 have price SPAC sponsors greater than $700 million.

The analysis agency additionally famous that just about $6 billion value of danger capital that has been deployed because the begin of 2021 is sitting in limbo.

“SPAC sponsors have all the time been the one occasion with significant danger of their funding going to zero. And it seems like lots of the members of the most important ever class of SPACs will find yourself strolling away with nothing,” SPAC Analysis mentioned.

LMAC’s sponsor is Liberty Media Corp., which held a 20% stake within the blank-check agency.

 Music Enterprise Worldwide