Once thought to be slipping through the recession’s cracks and into oblivion, many special purpose acquisition companies not only succeeded in getting investors to sign off on mergers—some generated substantial value after the deal for shareholders. SPACupdate.com tracks these SPACs, and has anointed the year’s best blank checks—while also acknowledging a few flops in the asset class.

Winners:

HICKS ACQUISITION (NYSE: REN): The SPAC’s deal with Graham Packaging on life support, dealmaker Thomas O. Hicks rejuvenated his $550 million SPAC with a new target, Resolute Energy Corp. Investors including SPO Advisory piled on and the merger pulled through, taking warrants that were worth $0.08 just weeks away from the SPAC’s deadline and inflating their value to $2.17 on Dec. 18. Since the IPO, units are up more than 30 percent.

TM ENTERTAINMENT (AMEX: CCME): The Ted Green-led SPAC went from, in March, being sued by Bulldog Investors to liquidate early, to finding a winning target in China MediaExpress. The $82 million SPAC went on a successful warrant buyback campaign after the deal was completed, buying nearly 2 million warrants at $0.50 a pop. The company’s revenues grew 65% last quarter and net income was up 43 percent. The SPAC’s units have more than doubled in value from their worth at the time of the IPO, making this deal one of the best SPACs of the recession.

SPRING CREEK ACQUISITION (NASDAQ: AUTC): The Mighty Mouse of this year’s SPACs at $41 million, Spring Creek brought AutoChina International public in April 2009 and almost immediately began working to sell the company’s dealership business to focus on auto financing. The result was an explosion of value that investors have been riding for eight months. Target managers who decided to buy warrants prior to the deal’s vote saved a mint in cash and dilution. Warrants went from trading for pennies to hitting an eye-popping $20 each as they became eligible for redemption and the SPAC’s units are up a mind-boggling 400%-plus. Yes: four hundred percent.

Losers:

GLOBAL CONSUMER ACQUISITION (WLBC): First, the SPAC sought to bring public some assets of Colonial Bank, but that target failed and was bought by an owner who then refused to sell to the SPAC. Not being short on banks desperate for a capital injection, management arranged a new merger to bring Service1st Bank of Nevada and 1st Commerce Bank public. It worked—until it didn’t. Days after the deal’s completion in October, AMEX officials notified the merged entity, now called Western Liberty Bancorp, it would be de-listed for not maintaining enough shareholders. 1st Commerce then dissolved its merger agreement, leaving Global Consumer and Service1st looking for a new exchange to trade on (it is trying to get onto NASDAQ) as well as a new target. The SPAC’s units are trading 15% below their IPO value now—but the blank check’s management at least succeeded in getting a deal done.

ASIA SPECIAL SITUATION (AMEX: CIO): In March 2009, Asia Special Situation announced a deal to buy White Energy, an Australia-based energy supplier for Korea. Months dragged on until July, when the SPAC amended its agreement to offer the target more cash. As the vote date drew closer, the target got cold feet and in November instead opted to accept a $100 million capital injection from an outside investor. The SPAC—which might have had success had it sped its deal vote’s arrival—will liquidate, more than nine months after its merger was first revealed.

PINPOINT ACQUISITION (PPAC): In May, Pinpoint Acquisition announced a deal had not materialized sufficiently and that it would liquidate, retaining only a few thousand dollars and remaining a shell company in search of SPAC-capital. After holding onto shareholders’ redemption checks for up to seven months following the liquidation announcement, the SPAC found a new way to raise funds. It sued former target Elbit Systems for bad faith for a deal that had fallen apart months earlier. That suit has yet to proceed.

Other SPACs getting high marks for 2009 include GHL Acquisition Co. (NASDAQ: IRDMU), 2020 ChinaCap (NASDAQ: EDS) and China Opportunity (GGEEF). More blank checks that ran into difficulty after the merger include Triplecrown (OTC: CAGZ), InterAmerican (IAQG), and Alyst (OTC: CNWHF). 2010’s SPAC deals already have investors buzzing; the BPW-Talbots (AMEX: BPW) deal pushed the SPAC’s shares past redemption value almost immediately. Chardan 2008 China (AMEX: CACA) reversed course; that SPAC has sized up a Florida-based company that processes property bankruptcies for a deal. That blank check, too, is currently seeing its shares trade above trust. New SPAC GSME Acquisition Co. (OTC: GSMEF) priced late this year, marking the first post-recession blank check to emerge and 57th St. Acquisition Co. continues to raise capital. Smaller and boutique banks keep working to connect SPAC sponsors with management teams and in Toronto, the TSX awaits its first blank check.

For more on these and other SPACs, please visit www.SPACupdate.com.

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