CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Special-purpose acquisition companies, better known as SPACs, have been embraced by big institutions and small-pocketed investors alike. Celebrities and famous athletes have endorsed them. A SPAC is essentially just a pile of investors’ cash. The goal is to use those millions of dollars to take a private company public without using the traditional initial public offering process that’s been around for decades. Companies such as Draftkings and Virgin Galactic used a SPAC to go public last year. The frenzy surrounding SPACs has also attracted the attention of government regulators, who are concerned they may draw in unsophisticated investors.
