SPACs Take Few Firms Public Despite Billions in IPOs

After a flurry of IPOs that raised $11.7 billion this year, a new crop of blank-check firms are joining a long queue: all the other vehicles waiting for the chance to take a company public.

The rush of initial public offerings marks the busiest start to a year since 2021’s boom, with a whopping 53 companies raising four times as much as in the same period last year, according to data from SPAC Research, which tracks the industry. The 13 announced mergers since Jan. 1 can’t keep up with the flow of deal-needy special purpose acquisition companies being created.