SPAC, which stands for special purpose acquisition company, also known as "blank check companies," has been around for decades. However has gained much popularities recently. Some view it as a more certain pathway to achieve IPO, others already predict SPAC market's collapse. So what is it going to be? Let's turn to the experts within our global Yale community to have a discussion on this topic.
Senior Portfolio Manager at Maryland State Retirement Agency
Mike Fang is a Senior Portfolio Manager managing $16B of Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities assets in Maryland State Retirement Agency. Mr. Fang has more than 15 years of portfolio management experience in the investment industry. Prior to joining MSRPS in 2019, Mike Fang is a Senior Fund Manager in ICMA-RC. He is the Co-PM in managing the $10B Target-Date/Target-Risk funds, $170M Short-Duration Bond Fund and $600M Alternative Asset fund. He is responsible for developing and managing strategic asset allocations, tactical asset allocations and trading across equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Prior to joining ICMA-RC in 2013, Mr. Fang worked as an Investment Strategist at T. Rowe Price. Mr. Fang’s experience includes strategic/tactical asset allocation, illiquid alternative portfolio product design, portfolio optimization, derivative pricing and risk modeling. Mike holds a MBA from the Yale School of Management. He also received his MS in Financial Mathematics from University of Chicago, MS in Computer Science from University of Illinois at Chicago and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University.
Partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
Portia Ku is a partner in O’Melveny & Myers LLP. and an accomplished corporate transactional lawyer who specializes in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity financings. Portia’s clients include public and private companies that span a variety of industries, including the technology, life sciences, healthcare, and financial services sectors. Portia has successfully completed a myriad of deals on behalf of her clients and has finished lots of IPO and SPAC deals through US and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. Portia is recognized as a "Leading Lawyer" (2017) and "Highly Regarded" (2018-2021) in Capital Markets and Private Equity by IFLR1000. Ms. Ku holds a LL.M. in Laws from Yale University.
Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Highbridge Capital Management
Jonathan Segal is a Managing Director, and the Co-Chief Investment Officer of Highbridge Capital Management (“HCM”). In this capacity, he oversees Highbridge’s Tactical Credit Fund, Convertible Dislocation Fund, SPAC Opportunity Fund, Strategic Credit Fund I, and certain co-investments. Jonathan began his career at HCM in 2007 and joined the convertible debt team in 2008. Prior to joining HCM, Mr. Segal worked at Sanford Bernstein & Co., LLC where he covered the U.S. and European consumer packaged goods sector as a Research Associate. Mr. Segal holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
