[grumpitron]

I believe the issue is not with SPACs that haven't merged with another company (as the money would be safe in escrow as you point out), but with SPACs which have already done the merger and taken another company public. They mention Helbiz (a scooter company) that was taken public last year, but may not survive another 12 months.

[giantg2]

Oh. Well at that point they're no longer a SPAC, right? This same scenario of almost being broke can apply to startups and recently IPO'd companies too. Really any small company in practice.

[umeshunni]

Yes, but the goal with SPACs was to allow these kind of companies to go public without following the due diligence process of a regular IPO.

[grumpitron]

Technically yes, but oftentimes companies that were taken public via a de-SPAC merger are still referred to as SPACs in the media.