Special purpose acquisition companies keep drawing in high-profile supporters, including Bill Ackman, Gary Cohn and "Moneyball” star Billy Beane. A new name will soon be added to the list of so-called SPAC sponsors: Masayoshi Son.
The billionaire’s SoftBank Group Corp. disclosed Monday it plans to set up one of the controversial vehicles in the next two weeks. In doing so, SoftBank will bring together the latest craze in capital markets with one of the more eccentric minds of the technology world. Son’s experiments, from the $100 billion Vision Fund to high-leverage options trading, have had mixed results.
SPACs have been criticized as a more expensive way of taking companies public than traditional initial public offerings and linked to froth in valuations as stocks reach dizzying new heights.
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