Chances are, you will want to know more.

你有可能會想知道更多。

As it turns out, there is no company, at least not yet.

事實證明，沒有公司，至少現在還沒有。

Will you part with your money?

你會把錢分給我嗎？

That is the pitch by owners of SPACs, or  special purpose acquisition companies,

這就是SPAC，或者說是特殊目的收購公司的所有者的宣傳。

which is arguably the hottest asset class in the  U.S. of late, led by notable investors such as

這可以說是美國近期最火爆的資產類別，由著名的投資者領銜，如

hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman and former  Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya.

對沖基金億萬富翁比爾-阿克曼（Bill Ackman）和Facebook前高管查馬斯-帕利哈皮蒂亞（Chamath Palihapitiya）。

We're getting a lot of questions about SPACs this week.

本週我們收到很多關於SPACs的問題。

SPACs this year have raised triple the  amount that they did in all of 2019.

SPAC今年的籌款額是2019年全年的三倍。

With companies slashing dividends and interest rates at rock bottom levels, investors are flocking to SPACs.

隨著公司削減股息和利率處於谷底水準，投資者紛紛湧向SPAC。

So what exactly are SPACs, and why are they so popular?

那麼，SPAC到底是什麼，為什麼這麼受歡迎呢？

Once shunned by investors, SPACs, also known  as blank check companies, have become an

曾經被投資者避之唯恐不及的SPAC，也就是所謂的空頭支票公司，現在已經成為了一種。

increasingly popular method in recent years  to list companies on a stock exchange.

近年來，越來越多的公司在證券交易所上市的方法。

SPACs are shell companies with no actual  commercial operations but are created solely

SPACs是沒有實際商業運作的空殼公司，但完全是在以下情況下建立的

for raising capital through an initial public  offering – or IPO — to acquire a private company.

通過首次公開募股(或IPO)籌集資金以收購一傢俬人公司。

This is done by selling common stock — with shares  commonly sold at $10 apiece — and a warrant,

這是通過出售普通股--通常以每股10美元的價格出售--和認股權證來實現的。

which gives investors the preference to  buy more stock later at a fixed price.

這讓投資者以後可以優先以固定價格購買更多的股票。

Once the funds are raised, they will be kept  in a trust until one of two things happen.

一旦籌集到資金，這些資金將被保存在信託基金中，直到兩種情況之一發生。

First, the management team of a SPAC — also  known as sponsors — identifies a company of interest,

首先，SPAC的管理團隊--也就是贊助商--確定一個感興趣的公司。

which will then be taken public through an acquisition,  using the capital raised in the IPO.

然後通過收購，利用IPO募集的資金將其上市。

Or second, if the SPAC fails to merge or  acquire a company within a deadline

或者第二種情況，如果SPAC未能在限期內兼併或收購一家公司

— typically two years — the SPAC will be liquidated,  and investors get their money back.

- 通常是兩年 - SPAC將被清算，投資者將拿回他們的錢。

SPACs have existed in one form or another as early as the 1990s, typically as a last resort for smaller companies to go public.

早在20世紀90年代，SPAC就以這樣或那樣的形式存在，通常是作為小公司上市的最後手段。

The number of SPAC IPOs has waxed and waned over  the years in tandem with the economic cycles,

多年來，SPAC IPO的數量隨著經濟週期的變化而變化。

and they have been making a resurgence of late.

而他們最近也在重新崛起。

Notable SPACs include Palihapitiya's  Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings,

值得注意的SPAC包括Palihapitiya的社會資本Hedosophia控股。

which acquired a 49% stake in British  spaceflight company Virgin Galactic in 2019.

該公司在2019年收購了英國航天公司維珍銀河49%的股份。

The biggest SPAC on record raised $4 billion in July 2020,

2020年7月，史上最大的SPAC籌集了40億美元。

led by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman's  Pershing Square Tontine Holdings.

由對沖基金經理比爾-阿克曼（Bill Ackman）的Pershing Square Tontine Holdings牽頭。

The structure of SPACs allows investors  to contribute money towards a fund

SPACs的結構允許投資者向基金出資。

without any knowledge of how their capital will  be used, thus the term 'blank-check companies'.

而不知道其資本將如何使用，是以稱為 "空頭支票公司"。

But what's the difference between a  SPAC IPO, and a traditional one?

但SPAC的IPO，和傳統的IPO有什麼區別？

There are several ways a private company can go public.

民營企業上市有幾種方式。

The most common route is through a traditional IPO,

最常見的途徑是通過傳統的IPO。

where it's subject to regulatory and investor  scrutiny of its audited financial statements.

其中，它的經審計的財務報表要接受監管和投資者的監督。

An investment bank is usually hired  by the company to underwrite the IPO,

投資銀行通常被公司聘請來承銷IPO。

which usually takes 4-6 months to complete.

通常需要4-6個月才能完成。

This involves roadshows and pitch  meetings between company executives  

這涉及到公司高管之間的路演和推介會。

and potential investors to drum up  interest and demand in its shares.

和潛在投資者，以鼓動對其股票的興趣和需求。

And not all IPOs succeed.

而且不是所有的IPO都能成功。

Co-working-space company WeWork withdrew its  high-profile IPO in 2019 amid weak demand  

在需求疲軟的情況下，聯合辦公空間公司WeWork高調撤回了2019年的IPO。

for its shares after massive losses and  leadership controversies were revealed.

在鉅額虧損和領導層爭議被披露後，為其股。

Other companies such as Spotify and Slack went  public through direct listings, saving on fees

其他公司如Spotify和Slack通過直接上市，節省了費用。

paid to middlemen such as investment banks,  although there are more risks involved.

付給投資銀行等中間商，不過其中的風險較大。

And while private companies listed through  SPACs are similar to reverse takeovers,  

而通過SPAC上市的民營企業則類似於反向收購。

such as the case for insolvent fintech company Wirecard,  

如破產的金融科技公司Wirecard的情況。

they are different in that SPACs start off  on a clean slate and have lower risks.

它們的不同之處在於，SPACs是在乾淨的基礎上開始的，風險較低。

Because SPACs are nothing more but shell  companies, their track records depend on the

因為SPAC不過是個空殼公司，其業績記錄取決於

reputation of the management teams.

管理團隊的聲譽。

By skipping the roadshow process, SPAC IPOs also typically list in a much shorter time.

由於跳過了路演的過程，SPAC IPO上市的時間通常也會大大縮短。

This has led some investors to become wary of  buying shares in companies listed through SPACs  

這導致一些投資者對購買通過SPACs上市的公司的股票持謹慎態度。

due to the lack of scrutiny compared to traditional IPOs.

由於與傳統IPO相比，缺乏審查。

SPAC sponsors also typically receive 20% of founder shares in the company at a heavily discounted price,

SPAC的贊助商通常也會以大幅折扣的價格獲得公司20%的創始人股份。

also known as the “promote.”

又稱 "推廣"。

This essentially dilutes the ownership of public shareholders.

這實質上稀釋了公眾股東的所有權。

For example, initial shareholders of Palihapitiya's Social Capital got 20% of the company at $0.002 cent,

例如，Palihapitiya的社會資本的初始股東以0.002美元的價格獲得了公司20%的股份。

while public shareholders got the remaining 80% at $10 a share.

而公眾股東則以每股10元的價格獲得了剩餘的80%。

But how have SPACs fared in equity markets,  especially for ordinary investors?

但SPAC在股市中的表現如何，尤其是對於普通投資者而言？

A study of 56 SPACs that completed acquisitions  or mergers since the start of 2018 found that

對2018年年初以來完成收購或兼併的56家SPAC進行研究後發現。

they tend to underperform the S&P 500 during a three,  six and 12-month period after the transaction.

在交易後的3個月、6個月和12個月期間，它們的表現往往低於標準普爾500指數。

A separate study of blank-check companies  in the U.S. organized between 2015 and 2019  

2015年至2019年期間組織的美國空白檢查公司的單獨研究。

found that the majority are trading below  the standard price of $10 per share.

發現，大部分的交易價格都低於10元/股的標準價格。

Between 2017 and the middle of 2019, there  were slightly over 100 SPACs in the U.S.,  

2017年至2019年中，美國的SPAC略高於100個。

with an average return of a mere 2%.

平均回報率僅為2%。

If there's one thing that markets hate, that's uncertainty.

如果說市場最討厭的是什麼，那就是不確定性。

Even before the pandemic, SPACs were already on the rise, buoyed by the equity boom and hot IPO market in 2019.

在2019年股權投資熱潮和火熱的IPO市場的推動下，即使在疫情發生之前，SPAC已經開始崛起。

While the pandemic has slowed the pipeline of  traditional IPOs, SPACs have bucked the trend.

雖然疫情使傳統IPO的進程放緩，但SPAC卻逆勢而上。

With the quality of management teams  improving, fewer disclosure requirements  

隨著管理隊伍素質的提高，對資訊披露的要求減少了

and a relatively straightforward listing  process, blank check companies are booming.

以及相對簡單的上市流程，空頭支票公司蓬勃發展。

In fact, funds raised through SPACs outpaced traditional IPOs in August — a rarity on Wall Street.

事實上，8月份通過SPAC籌集的資金超過了傳統的IPO，這在華爾街是罕見的。

In the first ten months of 2020, there were 165 SPACs IPOs globally, of which 96% of them were listed in the U.S.

2020年前10個月，全球共有165家SPACs IPO，其中96%在美國上市。

That is nearly double the number of global SPACs  issued in 2019 and five times that of 2015.

這幾乎是2019年全球SPAC發行數量的兩倍，是2015年的5倍。

Of the $56 billion poured into global SPAC  listings in 2020, 99% was raised in the U.S.,  

在2020年投入全球SPAC上市的560億美元中，99%是在美國籌集的。

and that figure is nearly 12 times the amount  raised globally in 2015 over the same period.

而這一數字是2015年同期全球籌資額的近12倍。

While largely an American phenomenon, SPACs have caught the attention of investors in other jurisdictions.

雖然主要是美國的現象，但SPAC已經引起了其他地區投資者的注意。

In 2018, Antony Leung, the former finance  secretary of Hong Kong, raised $1.5 billion on the  

2018年，香港前財政司司長梁振英在上融資15億美元。

New York Stock Exchange through his SPAC, which  bought a mainland hospital chain a year later.

紐約證券交易所通過他的SPAC，一年後收購了一家內地連鎖醫院。

Other players include Masayoshi Son's SoftBank,  

其他玩家還包括孫正義的軟銀。

and the investment arm of Chinese  state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group.

和中國國有企業集團中信集團的投資部門。

Despite having sponsors from Asia looking  to acquire international companies,

儘管有來自亞洲的贊助商希望收購國際公司。

these SPACs are ultimately listed in the U.S.

這些空間站最終都被列入美國。

It's a similar story in Europe, which  has seen muted SPAC activity.

歐洲也有類似的情況，SPAC的活動也很平淡。

For example, the management team of blank check company Broadstone Acquisition Corp is based in London,

例如，空頭支票公司Broadstone Acquisition Corp的管理團隊就設在倫敦。

targeting private companies in the U.K. and Europe, but is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

目標是英國和歐洲的私人公司，但在紐約證券交易所上市。

One main reason is the different  rules for SPACs across jurisdictions.

其中一個主要原因是各轄區對SPAC的規則不同。

In the U.S., investors can vote to  approve the acquisition the SPAC proposes,

在美國，投資者可以投票準許SPAC提議的收購。

or redeem their funds if they do not support the proposed deal.

如果他們不支持擬議的交易，或贖回他們的資金。

This, however, isn't a requirement in some  European jurisdictions, including the U.K.

然而，在包括英國在內的一些歐洲司法管轄區，這並不是一項要求。

There is also a lock-in period for British investors once an acquisition is announced until the approval of the prospectus,

一旦宣佈收購，英國投資者還有一個鎖定期，直到招股書獲批。

which ties them into deals that they may  not support in that indefinite period.

將他們捆綁在他們可能不會支持的無限期的交易中。

But changes may be afoot.

但變化可能正在發生。

As SPAC activity reaches fever pitch in the U.S., regulators are putting these blank check companies under the microscope.

隨著SPAC活動在美國達到熱潮，監管機構正在將這些空頭支票公司置於顯微鏡下。

Competition to the IPO process is probably  a good thing, but for good competition and

競爭對IPO進程來說也許是件好事，但對於好的競爭和

good decision-making, you need good information.

好的決策，你需要好的資訊。

And one of the areas in the SPAC space  that I'm particularly focused on is

而在SPAC領域，我特別關注的一個領域是

incentives and compensation to the SPAC sponsors.

獎勵和補償給SPAC的贊助者；

However, investors like Palihapitiya have  defended SPACs transactions, saying that they

然而，像Palihapitiya這樣的投資者為SPACs的交易進行了辯護，稱它們

are no different from the fees that banks  collect in a traditional IPO process.

與銀行在傳統IPO過程中收取的費用並無不同。

As more ordinary investors jump on the  SPAC bandwagon, experts are concerned

隨著越來越多的普通投資者加入到SPAC的行列中，專家擔心

that this will overheat markets and  affect any fragile economic recovery.

這將使市場過熱，影響任何脆弱的經濟復甦。

While SPACs provide a straightforward route  to invest through a trusted intermediary,  

雖然SPACs提供了一個直接的途徑，通過一個值得信賴的中介機構進行投資。

its performance so far means that it is  a dicey bet for ordinary investors.

其迄今為止的表現意味著，對於普通投資者來說，它是一個危險的賭注。

Hi, guys. What's your thoughts on SPACs? Would you invest in one?

嗨，夥計們，你們對SPACs有什麼看法？你對SPAC有什麼看法？ 你會投資一個嗎？

Drop your comments, and don't forget to subscribe.

留下你的評論，別忘了訂閱。

In the meantime, thanks for watching, stay safe.

同時，感謝大家的觀看，注意安全。