Britain’s regulator makes a play for SPAC listings

LONDON SO FARSPACFCASPAC has missed out on the dizzying investment boom in special-purpose acquisition companies (s) centred on America. Those that have come to Europe have conspicuously swerved the City, choosing Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris or Stockholm instead. On August 10th, in an attempt to change that, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority () loosened its listing rules.s provide an unconventional means of taking private companies public. A dealmaker incorporates a shell company and lists it on a stock exchange, raising money from shareholders in order to find a private company worth buying. After finding one, agreeing a price and passing a shareholder vote, the two companies merge. The private company is now public, and the dealmaker is rewarded with a slice of ownership in the merged entity.