'SPACS Attack' Weekly Recap: 8 Deals, New SPACs To Watch And Headline News

The four-day trading week saw no weakness in SPAC deal announcements or headlines, all of which we followed on Benzinga's SPACS Attack show.

Here is a look back at the deals announced, some new SPACs to watch and top headlines.

SPAC Deals: There were eight announced SPAC deals during the week. The results were mixed as we saw some strong pops on deals and several of the names end their announcement day trading down.

Satellite company BlackSky announced a merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp SFTW. The deal included financial backing from Peter Thiel. BlackSky uses artificial intelligence and machine learning with its observation satellites. The company has five satellites in commercial operation, with plans to add nine more in 2021.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest was part of the financial backing on a merger of Quantum-Si with SPAC HighCape Capital Acquisition Corp CAPA. Quantum-Si was founded by Jonathan Rothberg, the same founder of Butterfly Network Inc BFLY, which just recently went public. Planning to launch a chip-based proteomics solution, Qunatum-Si believes it can change the protein and genomics market.

Origin Materials, which uses wood residue and non-food sources to create useful materials, is merging with Artius Acquisition AACQ. The company bills itself as a "carbon negative" materials play and is backed by PepsiCo PEP, Danone and Nestle SA NSRGY.

Battery Recycler Li-Cycle is merging with Peridot Acquisition Corp PDAC. The company uses a proprietary method to recover high-grade materials from end-of-life batteries.

Intel-backed Aeye announced a merger with CF Finance Acquisition III CFAC. The deal, which had been rumored since mid-January, will bring another lidar company to the public markets.

Humacyte announced a merger with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp AHAC. The company is pre-revenue and working on developing implantable bio-engineered human tissue.

See also: How to Invest in SPACs

Sandbridge Acquisition Corp SBG is taking Owlet public. Owlet owns a slate of baby products that seek to make parenting easier through technology. The Owlet Smart Sock baby monitor tracks a baby’s heart rate and sleep patterns.

East Stone Acquisition Corp ESSC announced a SPAC merger with JHD Holdings on Thursday. JHD Holdings is an online and offline merchant platform that works with over 90,000 independent retailers in China.

Related Link: 10 SPAC Accounts To Follow On Twitter

SPAC Rumors: Supersonic jet company Aerion is in talks to go public with Altitude Acquisition Corp ALTU, according to Bloomberg.

New SPACs: Forest Road Acquisition Corp II is seeking to raise $300 million with a second SPAC from its Forest Road Acquisition FRX team. The SPAC group, which includes three former Walt Disney Company DIS executives and Shaquille O’Neal, just announced a merger for Beachbody and Myx Fitness with their first SPAC. The second SPAC will trade as FRXB on the NYSE.

New Vista Acquisition NVSAU is targeting aviation, aerospace and defense, and is led by Dennis Muilenburg, former CEO of Boeing Co BA.

The team of Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus filed to launch their third SPAC, called Reinvent Technology Partners Y, which will trade as RTPY on the NASDAQ. The duo have two other SPACs that are trading and still searching for targets with Reinvent Technology Partners RTP and Reinvent Technology Partners Z RTPZ.

Chamath Palihapitiya has filed the names of his next seven SPACs with the SEC, which means we could be closer to seeing the next SPACs in his "IPOA to IPOZ" line soon.

Headlines: The biggest story outside of the new deals in the SPAC industry was the continued rise of Churchill Capital Corp IV CCIV. The company is reported to be close to a deal with Lucid Motors. Shares ended the week trading at $54.60.

Romeo Power RMO and QuantumScape Corp QS both saw shares trade higher on news of their respective battery technologies.

Ark Funds added a position in Atlas Crest Investment Corp ACIC, which is taking urban air mobility company Archer public.

Velodyne Lidar VLDR shares fell on news that Ford Motor Company F sold its 7.6% stake in the lidar company.

Disclosure: Author is long shares CCIV, FRXU and RMO.

Be sure to tune into SPACs Attack, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. EST. Below are links to the past week’s shows:

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Photo courtesy of Lucid Motors.

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