On first acquaintance a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) appears to be a contemporary copy of the infamous venture “for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but no one to know what it is”, forever associated with the South Sea Bubble of 1720. As such, it is something that should be avoided.

Plenty of other people, including financial regulators, think otherwise, however.

Far from indicating financial market excess, proponents claim that in additio...