Banking, finance, and taxes

SPAC Shareholders Keep OK-ing Big Mergers (IAN, DSP, STTA, TGY, GHC, NAQ, REN)

SPACupdate.com monitors live deals involving blank check companies, associated stock and warrant transactions and relevant personnel moves. So far this week, shareholders approved one SPAC transaction and shot another down and two blank checks with deals in place elected to instead dissolve. Six SPAC deal votes are still due this month.

Inter-Atlantic Financial (AMEX: IAN) saw its deal to buy a Florida insurance company rejected without much fanfare. Little volume in the blank check moved Wednesday, when the SPAC held its vote, almost five months after announcing its intent to buy Patriot Risk Management.

SP Acquisition Holdings, Inc.(AMEX: DSP) cancelled its vote date and announced its merger, set for a vote this week to bring public Frontier Financial, a West Coast banking operation, would not succeed. The SPAC was supposed to have its deal vote on Oct. 8 and investors familiar with the blank check indicated its CEO, Warren Lichtenstein, had been in discussions to buy back shares recently.

Stone Tan China Acquisition (OTCBB: STTA) announced it would give up on its deal and liquidate, just one day after activist stakeholder Bulldog Investors announced a seven percent holding in the SPAC, adding to what was already a lengthy list of shareholders that are yield-to-trust players. The SPAC indicated difficulty getting its deal approved by the Chinese government by its vote deadline would derail the merger.

Tremisis Energy Acquisition Co. II (AMEX: TGY) said the parent company of its target Asiana IDT, a Korean IT solutions firm, Asiana Airlines, has entered into an agreement with the SPAC in which it will buy additional shares so that it will have altogether about 50% of the blank check’s stock once the deal closes. The amended purchase agreement also lets SPAC CEO Sang-Chul Kim keep 10% more of his shares than previously announced. The SPAC’s deal deadline is this December.

Global Consumer Acquisition Co. (GHC) shareholders approved the $300 million-plus SPAC’s deal to become a Nevada banking business Wednesday, marking a victory for a blank check that just weeks prior, saw a portion of its deal vanish when a target was seized by the government and had its assets sold. Global Consumer had to hastily align another target, and did, buying Nevada banking businesses and changing its name to Western Liberty Bancorp.

NRDC Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: NAQ) postponed its deal vote to become a REIT until Oct. 20.

Resolute Energy Corporation (NYSE: REN), the company brought public through Hicks Acquisition Co. (AMEX: TOH) continues to trade above its trust value. Shares closed up about 5% at $10.88 Wednesday and are up another 3.5% today at $11.26 in early morning trading.

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