Things look very grim for SPACs spearheaded by some popular athletes, as these blank check companies tied to notable sports figures have been severely trailing the S&P 500, Forbes reports. Shaquille O’Neal, Colin Kaepernick, Jay-Z, Serena Williams, Alex Rodriquez and Steph Curry have all recently gotten into the SPAC game without much success. Specifically, 21 out of 33 SPACs tied to famous public figures have posted negative returns for 2021.
The De-SPAC Index, a group of 25 companies that went public by merging with a SPAC, is down more than 40%. CultureBanx breaks’s down exactly whose SPACs are underperforming. Beachbody, backed by Shaquille O’Neal, is down over 77% since going public in a $2.9 billion deal in January. Metal 3D-printing company Velo3D, which Serena Williams helped take public, has fallen nearly 32% since its January SPAC merger. Read more.
