STSM042620 - Exemptions and reliefs: reliefs: UK Listing Relief - Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)

A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a type of company whose main purpose is to acquire another company. A SPAC will initially raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO) and use the funds acquired to identify and acquire a target company.  The UK Listing Relief provides a specific definition of “first listed” for a company if:

  1. shares (or depositary interests) in the company were admitted to the official list at a time when the company’s assets consisted wholly or mainly of cash or short-dated securities, and
  2. the shares (or depositary interests) were admitted with a view to the company taking control of an unlisted company before the end of a certain period.

Where a company meets these conditions, the listing relief does not apply to the securities initially issued and admitted to the official list under the IPO. Instead, the company is treated as being “first listed” from the time the company first makes a regulatory announcement to the effect that it has taken control of an unlisted company.