Apex’s new Outsourced Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Solution is set to include custody through its third party network.
Apex says this will provide clients’ stakeholders comfort around asset safekeeping and return while clients identify business combination targets.
The new solution has been launched via its subsidiary Throgmorton, and comes in the midst of a significant increase in the number of SPACs and demand for service providers who can support these vehicles.
According to Apex, the solution also comes at a time when there are increasingly complex regulatory obligations affecting SPACs throughout their entire life cycles.
The Outsourced SPAC COO Solution also includes financial statement preparation and audit coordination, Cayman and/or Delaware company set-up services, and directors and officers (D&O) insurance through its partnership with AssuredPartners.
Additionally, the solution will establish bank accounts and support the trust arrangements required to facilitate the management of funds pre-deployment.
Apex says the solution enhances its services for SPAC vehicles, including transactional and ESG due diligence, custodian capabilities, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance through a dedicated partnership with AssuredPartners, enabling the delivery of a comprehensive, turnkey offering to both new and existing SPAC clients.
Georges Archibald, regional managing director and head of Apex Americas at Apex Group, comments: “We understand the dynamic environment around forming and launching these vehicles and our outsourced SPAC COO solution can help SPACs to manage these requirements and the roles of various different stakeholders – but, more importantly, we remove bottlenecks to free up the sponsors and investors to focus on their key business objectives.”
Jon Hanifan, head of corporate solutions, Americas at Throgmorton, says: “Much of 2020 and early 2021 was focused on widening the reach of our business services in the North American market and this latest solution will further support our clients both in the US and further afield, as they use this structure to support their cross border expansion plans.”
“The SPAC COO Solution builds on our growth and supports our dedication to continuing to strengthen and deliver Apex’s single-source solution to our clients,” Hanifan adds.
Meanwhile, Apex notes that Daniel Strauss, CEO of GlassBridge Enterprises, a holding company focused on asset management opportunities, will be joining Apex in an advisory capacity to help guide and deliver the Outsourced SPAC COO Solution.
