What’s so special about special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs? That’s a question on the minds of many, as the blank-check fundraising vehicles recently have risen to prominence and domination.

The SPAC offers an alternative to the traditional initial public offering process. First, the entity, which operates as an empty shell, raises a pot of capital by selling public shares to investors. Then it finds a private company to acquire and uses the pot of money to take an equity stake in that company — this is the “de-SPAC” transaction. By absorbing the private company into the public SPAC structure, the private company becomes a public company and receives an infusion of capital.

There are nuances to the process, of course. Typically, SPACs offer shares at $10 each, along with a warrant that gives the right to purchase additional shares at a later date. Once a SPAC begins trading, its share price will reflect investors’ expectation of what type of tar