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00:00TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP. A NEW SPAC THAT INTENDS TO FOCUS ON TECH AND FINTECH. THERE WAS A BIG SPAC FRENZY, THAN THEY PULLED BACK. SOME HAVE BEEN DOING BETTER THAN OTHERS. WHY TAKE THE SPAC ' S BACK? CLAUDIA: LIKE YOU MENTIONED, IT WAS AN EXCITING YEAR. 600 BILLION SPAC ' S WENT INTO MARKET. WE HAVE 4 OTHERS PRICED NEXT WEEK AND ANOTHER 270 IN THE PIPELINE. IS SHAPING UP AN EXCITING YEAR. WE HAVE SEEN LONG-TERM INVESTORS, OPERATORS, AND ENTREPRENEURS WITH MORE THAN 100 0 ENTREPRENEURS IN 600 COMPANIES. BUSINESSES EXPECT TO GO FROM THE HEDGE FUND BACKGROUND TO THIS BACK MARKET AND OPPORTUNITY TO BRING GOOD PRIVATE COMPANIES INTO THE PUBLIC MARKET AND SUPPORT THEM THROUGH THE JOURNEY WITH OUR TEAM. EMILY: WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO BUY? CLAUDIA: GREAT QUESTION. WE HAD A LAID-BACK YEAR, GREAT CONVERSATIONS, AND OUR MAIN FOCUS IS MARKETPLACES. THIS IS WHERE OUR EXPERTISE LAYS. THOSE OTHER COMPANIES THAT WE ARE TALKING TO RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, WE HAVE HIGH VALUATIONS ABOUT A YEAR AGO LAST YEAR. THE MARKET SOFTENED UP AND DECEM BER ALONE LAST YEAR, WE SAW 25 MERGERS COMPLETED. YOU KNOW, WE ARE COMING FROM A STRONG END OF THE YEAR AND EXCITED ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR. WHILE WE ARE SEEING IS WITH THE RISING INTEREST, DEVALUATIONS ADJUSTED, THE RESULT OF THAT, THE SPAC VEHICLE IS BECOMING A GOOD TOOL FOR ENTREPRENEURS TO LOOK FOR CERTAINTY. EMILY: THAT SEC HAS BEEN ACTIVE LOOKING INTO SPAC ' S AND REVERSE MERGERS. WE ARE ABOUT TO HIT RATE LEFT OFF CYCLES. DO YOU WISH YOU HAD DONE THIS SOONER? CLAUDIA: WE ACTUALLY DID IT THE RIGHT TIME. WE NAVIGATED THROUGH THE PROCESS. THERE ' S 580 SPACS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES. ALL OF 2022, THE GREAT COMPETITOR WAS CASH AND CASH LIABILITY FOR LARGE PUBLIC CORPORATIONS. M & A IS COMPETITIVE AGAINST PRIVATE EQUITIES. SPACS ARE STILL THE TRUE COMPETITOR. IT DOESN ' T MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR US IN TERMS OF FINDING A GOOD COMPANY TO BREAK THE MARKET. EMILY: INVESTORS HAVE EMBRACED TESLA AS THE BIGGEST CARMAKER BY MARKET VALUE. FORD ALSO SOARING AND THESE OTHER NEW ENTRANTS THAT WENT PUBLIC VIA SPAC. THEY HAVE LITTLE IN TERM OF REVENUE. DO YOU THINK OR WORRY THAT WE COULD BE IN THE PROCESS OF A BUBBLE BURSTING? CLAUDIA: IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER COMPANIES LIKE LUCID THAT WAS BROUGHT IN, THERE ARE SOME COMPANIES LIKE LORDSTOWN THAT MAY BE WILL BE STRUGGLING TO BRING THE AVERAGE DOWN. IT IS A MATTER OF, DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT ASSET? IF I THINK ABOUT FORCED SPACS, WHAT IS THE KEY FOR US BACK TO BE SUCCESSFUL? NUMBER ONE, HAVE THE RIGHT TEAM IN THE RIGHT OPERATING TEAM BEHIND IT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THE JOURNEY OF A PUBLIC COMPANY. IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE ASSETS YOU USE. EMILY: WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE SPAC MARKET? DOES THIS CONTINUE TO BE A MORE NICHE ROUTE OF GOING PUBLIC? DOES IT BECOME MORE POPULAR OR NOT? CLAUDIA: WE SEE THE SPAC INVESTMENT BEING A GOOD ALTERNATIVE TO GO PUBLIC, TO GO WITH THE DIRECT LISTING. WHAT WE EXPECT TO SEE IS A COUPLE OF THINGS. IN 2022, AND 2023, WE MIGHT SEE SOME OF THE SPAC ' S COMING TO TERM, IN AVERAGE OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS OF 5% OF SPAC ' S THAT HAD TO WIND DOWN IN THE COMING YEARS. WE WILL SEE THE SAME, JUST WITH A LARGER VOLUME. AT THE SAME TIME, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SPAC ' S TO FIND THE RIGHT MATCH. WE DO BELIEVE IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PROMINENT VEHICLE. WE EXPECT TO SEE LESS AND MORE REPEATED INTEREST. WE THINK THE MARKETS ARE BIFURCATING. EMILY: ANY SECTORS YOU ARE STAYING AWAY FROM DELIBERATELY? CLAUDIA: SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, WE STAYED AWAY IN THE PAST FROM HEALTH CARE. OUR FOCUS IS MARKETPLACES. SOME OF US SEE A MARKETPLACE EVERYWHERE. IT REALLY DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT.

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What the Future Holds for SPAC Deals in 2022

Global Technology Acquisition Corp’s CFO Claudia Gast joins Emily Chang to talk about the SPAC landscape in 2022. (Source: Bloomberg)

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