Blank Cheque, Big Potential: Why India Needs A Legal And Regulatory Roadmap For Financial Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC) Reform Now
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 13
- 2 min read
Bhakti Kaushal, Bharati Vidhyapeeth University, Pune
ABSTRACT
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies are no more niche instruments but are now almost the only mainstream channel through which companies, especially start-ups and high-growth companies, could access public markets without going through the laborious typical IPO procedure. SPACs have also gone global; they have momentum especially in the U.S., Singapore, and the U.K.; and they have benefits such as speed, valuation control, and sponsor expertise. However, on the flipside, the development of SPACs has highlighted systemic risks like sponsor misalignment, lack of due diligence, dilution, and post-merger underperformance.
Currently, against the backdrop of a burgeoning start up ecosystem and aspirations of being a global financial hub, India does not have an internal regulatory framework that accommodates SPACs. Consequently, Indian companies aspiring to go through the SPAC route have no choice but to go offshore and list abroad, leading to regulatory arbitrage, capital flight, and missed economic opportunities.
In this paper, the structure and lifecycle of the SPAC have been critically examined, their global evolution has been evaluated, and the legally and institutionally peculiar challenges in India have been analysed. There is an attempt to learn from international regulatory models and study the detailed facts underlying a few Indian companies that went for SPAC listings in foreign jurisdictions. The paper also evaluates the economic feasibility of a domestic SPAC regime and comments on the policy framework for India to frame a SPAC path in a balanced, transparent, and investor-friendly way.
Addressing the regulatory void, creating inter-agency coordination, and GIS alignment would ensure that SPACs flourish as a harmonizing source of funds for India. This will, in turn, deepen domestic markets, bring in foreign investment, catalyse innovation, and ramp up Indian companies' growth trajectory globally.
Keywords: SPACs; Indian capital markets; PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity); IPO alternatives; investor protection; GIS
