The SPAC Podcast: Special Purpose Acquisition Company
🎙️ Welcome to The SPAC Podcast — your front-row seat to the dynamic world of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies.
Hosted by Michael Blankenship, a leading capital markets attorney and partner at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Joshua Wilson, executive producer and capital markets advisor, The SPAC Podcast brings you candid conversations, insider insights, and sharp analysis from the people shaping the future of the SPAC market.
Whether you’re a sponsor, investor, founder, attorney, banker, or just curious about the mechanics and momentum behind SPACs — this show is your go-to source for education, strategy, and real-world stories from the dealmakers behind the deals.
🚀 What You’ll Hear
In each episode, we’ll unpack:
- The structure, lifecycle, and mechanics of SPACs — from IPO to de-SPAC
- Legal and regulatory insights that matter to sponsors and targets
- Interviews with founders, investors, and advisors who’ve navigated successful transactions
- Trends and forecasts from the front lines of capital markets
- Lessons learned, deal strategies, and ways to leverage SPACs as a growth vehicle
We’re not just watching the SPAC market — we’re talking to the people building it.
🎧 Meet Your Hosts
Michael Blankenship is the Office Managing Partner of Winston & Strawn LLP (Houston) and Co-Chair of the firm’s Capital Markets practice. He has represented over 100 public companies, private equity firms, and SPACs in IPOs, M&A, de-SPACs, and securities offerings. Known for his clarity, legal acumen, and deal fluency, Michael brings unmatched insight into the regulatory, transactional, and strategic forces shaping the SPAC space.
Joshua Wilson is experienced in investment banking and the founder of multiple media brands, including The Investor Relations Podcast. With over 2,000 interviews under his belt and deep experience in real estate, private capital, and investor engagement, Josh brings a fresh voice and strategic lens to every conversation — helping connect deals with the stories and people behind them.
Together, they bridge law, finance, and media — guiding listeners through the world of SPACs with clarity, credibility, and curiosity.
🌎 Who This Show is For
- SPAC Sponsors & CEOs
- Institutional and Private Investors
- Investment Bankers & Corporate Attorneys
- Venture-backed Founders and Startups
- Private Equity & Family Offices
- Finance Professionals and Capital Markets Enthusiasts
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The SPAC Podcast
Where sponsors meet stories, markets meet momentum, and strategy meets execution.
The SPAC Podcast: Special Purpose Acquisition Company
The Next Phase of the SPAC Market
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What’s next for the SPAC market? Chris Sorrells predicts a period of rationalization, cleaner vehicles, and more experienced sponsors. He also shares why greater skin in the game could drive healthier deals and investor trust.
Guest: Chris Sorrells – Chairman and CEO of Spring Valley
Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-sorrells-5a6a836/
Watch more episodes at: YouTube.com/@UCiOCVRrRqqmq20QNV9I43Zg
Let’s Connect on LinkedIn:
👉 Michael J. Blankenship - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship/
👉 Joshua Bruce Wilson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/
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Disclaimer: Michael J. Blankenship is a licensed attorney and partner at Winston & Strawn LLP. Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or compliance advice. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of any regulatory agency, law firm, organization, or employer. Listeners should consult their own legal counsel, compliance teams, or financial advisors to ensure adherence to applicable regulations, including SEC, FINRA, and other industry-specific requirements. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services. Let's
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Mike Blankenship: So there's been a lot of conversation lately about SPAC model evolving or even maturing. They've been around, 30 years. But what do you think the next phase of the SPAC market will look like?
Chris Sorrells: I hope it rationalizes. If you go back pre COVID you had, a hundred or less SPACs, 50 to a hundred in the market we peaked at just north of 700 in April of 22. We know how that ended, that, that's too many deals, too much money. Not enough competent sponsors. Currently we're about 2 56. About a hundred have deals. A hundred fifty, fifty eight or so are looking. There's 26 billion of capital in trust.
72 on file, another 10 billion. Yeah, you're starting to push a point that feels a little too robust in terms of numbers. If all those. Filed get public, you're gonna be north of 200 seeking and 36 billion. If you think about a three or four x multiplier in terms of trust to, deal size, it, you're talking, a hundred, 150 million billion of, deals, probably not that many good deals in the market.
Hoping there's some rationalization. The front end needs to be more discerning, so those investors on the front end need to discern a little, given the instrument and the guaranteed return and the interest that accrues. I think the front end is not overly discerning between sponsors.
One thing that we're certainly seeing, and this is I think a very big positive to the product, more experienced sponsors. With cleaner vehicles are coming into the market and I think the good ones will be able. To not only have a clean vehicle, but they'll be able to provide capital alternatives, IE pipe sources to help fund these deals correctly.
And I would certainly like to see more skin in the game on the front end. For the front end investor. IE if you redeem, maybe you lose some portion of your warrants or you forfeit some interest that's accrued. Just so you're not purely taking an option value and you really don't care who the sponsor is.
The. The good sponsors get the best terms but there's still fairly small delineation between what a good sponsor gets and an established sponsor.