Blank-check companies, flush with cash and on the hunt for a private business to take public, have started adding corporate carveouts to their list of potential purchases.
The surge in special purpose acquisition companies, which have raised more than $137 billion over the past 12 months, has set off a global search for suitable targets -- usually startups with little revenue or mature companies sitting in private equity portfolios. Now SPACs are also looking at divisions of public companies, with an eye on those that have the potential to be carved out as standalone businesses.
