It was hard not to pay attention to SPACs in the second half of 2020. The vehicle, often used in lieu of an IPO, saw more and larger deals in 2020 compared to 2019, with the former improving by a factor of five (or six, depending on which data you used). Either way, it was a big year for a previously back-burner financial vehicle. 

But what if 2020 wasn’t the “year of the SPAC?” What if 2021 is? Deal Watch tracked 10 special purpose acquisition company deals over the past week over $150 million. According to Refinitiv, there were 254 SPAC deals totaling about $78 billion in 2020. If this week is any indication, we would be looking at smashing the SPAC deal record for the second year in a row.