Chamath Palihapitiya, the most vocal promoter of a new wave of blank-cheque companies, financed two signature deals with borrowed money while emphasising the importance of sponsors having their own capital at risk.
The investor is known as the ‘Spac king’ for his series of special purpose acquisition companies, which raise capital by listing on the stock market and then seek a merger with a target company. His deal to take the space tourism company Virgin Galactic public in 2019 sparked renewed interest in Spacs, bankers said.
Palihapitiya has also touted large personal investments he has made in his own Spac deals and proposed that regulators force other promoters to put more of their “skin in the game”.