Billionaire investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, Ltd., an affiliate of Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, commented on the withdrawal of the New York Stock Exchange’s proposed amendment to its listing rules that would have allowed SPARC warrants (subscription warrants) to trade on the NYSE.
In view of the SEC’s recently proposed rule changes and policy guidance with respect to SPACs, Pershing Square management said they understand that the approval of the NYSE rule change as currently proposed would not likely have occurred at this time. By withdrawing the proposed rule, the NYSE preserves the ability for the approval of a revised rule once the new SPAC rules have been finalized.
In light of the withdrawal of the proposed listing rule and the resulting delay in obtaining listing of the SPARs on the NYSE, Pershing Square’s SPARC vehicle intends to seek effectiveness of its registration statement with the SEC with the SPARs to be traded on the OTC market.
Although Pershing Square has a SPAC completion deadline coming up in July, it can implement a six-month extension.
Ackman’s SPARC intends to issue SPARs to its shareholders in connection with either an initial business combination or at the time of PSTH’s liquidation or some future time, in each case once it is permitted to do so. In the event that PSTH completes a merger or liquidates prior to a registration statement with respect to the issuance of SPARs being declared effective by the SEC, SPARC intends to create a mechanism enabling PSTH shareholders and warrant holders to receive SPARs in any future legally permissible distribution.
The company stressed that there is no certainty a registration statement relating to the distribution of SPARs will be declared effective by the SEC. Read more.
