Another Busy SPAC Merger Week (GHC, IAN, DSP, FTBK)

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: October 5, 2009 9:50 am

Last Updated: October 5, 2009 9:53 am

This week kicks off a month’s worth of deal votes guaranteed to keep SPACs’ volume up into November. SPACUpdate.com has noted how the asset class has already been highlighted for its resiliency and successful SPACs deals are increasingly lending credibility to new mergers being pitched to investors. On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Global Consumer (AMEX: GHC) and Inter-Atlantic (AMEX: IAN) acquisition companies will have deal votes and on the 8th, but the SP Acquisition (AMEX: DSP) proposed merger with Frontier Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FTBK) appears to have been killed this morning.

Global Consumer (AMEX: GHC), after stumbling when its initial target collapsed and was taken over by BB&T, has identified a new target as it aims to buy into two distressed entities simultaneously. The SPAC will buy Service1st Bank of Nevada in an all-stock transaction and assets of 1st Commerce Bank, re-branding the new listed entity Western Liberty Bancorp. Sources spoke exclusively with SPACupdate.com about the deal’s likelihood of completion.

Inter-Atlantic Financial (AMEX: IAN) will, almost six months after its deal was announced, try to capitalize on rising investor sentiment when its deal vote comes Oct. 7 to bring public Patriot Risk Management, a Florida insurance services company. With a shareholder base that is well-populated with yield-to-trust shareholders, the SPAC needed to complete buybacks after its deal was announced.

Frontier Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FTBK) and SP Acquisition Holdings, Inc. (AMEX:DSP) jointly announced at 8:30 AM EST this morning that they have mutually agreed to terminate their planned merger. Frontier shares are down some 27% after the open.

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