DraftKings, Skillz SPAC Team Launch $1.5 Billion Spinning Eagle: What Investors Should Know

A well-known SPAC team is launching a $1.5 billion offering that could be highly anticipated by investors given their history in the space.

Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp: A new SPAC called Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp filed for registration on December 23.

The SPAC is seeking to sell 150 million units at $10 each to raise $1.5 billion. Each unit will include one-fifth of a warrant to buy a common share at $11.50. Underwriters will have the option to buy an additional 22.5 million units.

Common shares will trade as SPNG on the Nasdaq and be available for around 52 days after the offering was filed.

The Management Team: Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp is led by Harry Sloan, Eli Baker and Jeff Sagansky. Sloan, former CEO of the MGM movie studio, is serving as the CEO and chairman, with Baker acting as president and chief financial officer. Sagansky is a founding investor.

The duo of Sloan and Sagansky have been partners on many SPACs over the years, with Baker involved on many of the recent ones.

Sagansky is also part of the team at Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp FCAC, a SPAC launched with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s brother Alan G. Mnuchin.

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Past SPACs: The team behind Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp has years of experience in the SPAC industry including two recent success stories with DraftKings Inc. DKNG and Skillz Inc. SKLZ.

Flying Eagle Acquisition raised $690 million with units that included one-third of a warrant in January 2020. The company announced their merger with Skillz, valuing the mobile gaming company at $3.5 billion.

Diamond Eagle Acquisition raised $400 million in April 2019 with units that also included one-third of a warrant. The company merged with DraftKings in a deal that valued the sports betting company at $2.7 billion.

The company also did deals that included Target Logistics, Williams Scotsman, Global Eagle Entertainment and Videocon, which is now part of Dish TV India.

DraftKings has been one of the best performing SPACs of the year with shares trading at $52.11, up over 400% from their $10 offering price. Shares have traded as high as $63.78 this year.

Skillz shares trade at $19.02, up 90% from their $10 offering price. Shares have traded as high as $22.73 this year.

SPAC Target: The new SPAC is targeting a company that can benefit from the management team. No sector or geographical area is singled out as a focus, but the filing does mention the management team's experience in media and entertainment.

The team is targeting a company that is in a high growth industry, and has revenue or earnings growth and free cash flow generation.

If the company does not find a target company, plans could include forming a separate blank check company referred to as SpinCo.

Benzinga’s Take: Given the team’s experience with SPACs and the recent success with DraftKings and Skillz, this will be a highly anticipated SPAC offering.

Units and common shares will be in high demand and could trade at a premium.

Given the size of the SPAC, it is one of the largest offerings in 2020 and could land a huge company. The company’s focus on revenue and earnings generation could bring in a well-known and growing company that could be well received by investors.

Photo credit: World Poker Tour, Flickr