As of February 7, 2023, 348 SPACs were set to expire in 2023. Just in the month of March, 92 SPACs with more than $26 billion (bn) in trust accounts are obligated to complete mergers.
Looming expiration dates put a lot of pressure on blank check companies to complete business combinations. As of February 7, 2023, 19 SPACs with more than $5 bn in trust have already liquidated in 2023, compared to 0 liquidations for the same period last year.
Most of the 2023 liquidations so far were SPACs seeking targets in the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) industry. There are still 158 TMT-focused SPACs with more than $40 bn in trust that are looking to complete a merger in 2023. Given the current state of the market, SPACs will likely face more liquidations in 2023 than 2021 and 2022 combined.
