Former San Fransisco 49er and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick is set to become the latest athlete to join the recent SPAC craze. Kaepernick has partnered with a venture capital firm to create a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, to take public a company at "the intersection of consumer and impact."
Regular readers of Passport to Wall Street are probably extremely familiar with SPACs by now, thanks to their rapidly increasing popularity and the high level of media attention they have received. The SPAC craze has seemingly gripped everyone, from athletes like Kaepernick, Shaquille O'neal, and Alexander Rodriguez to hedge funds such as Elliott Management. The SPAC craze hit its peak in 2020, which saw SPACs account for 165 of the year's 480 IPOs. SPACs raised just under $80 billion in funding over the course of last year.
Kaepernick's SPAC, Mission Advancement Corp, is supposedly out to find a company that is "purpose driven" and could have a sizable social impact. There were numerous references to "ESG", or Environmental, Social, Governance in the company's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) filings. The SPAC is supposedly seeking a company that can provide investors with "mission-driven, meaningful financial and societal value." The goal of taking a socially impactful company public very much suits Kaepernick, who has more or less become a full-time social activist since he stopped playing in the NFL in 2016.
"We believe Mr. Kaepernick's substantial business experience combined with his long-term leadership on racial equity and justice issues will support our success in identifying a prospective target company and adding transformational value to the combined entity," the company's S.E.C. filings read.
Kaepernick is joined by co-founder Jahm Najafi of the Najafi Companies hedge fund. Najafi will serve as CEO for Mission Advancement Corp. Among the company's board of directors is Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) veteran Attica Jaques and Birchbox co-founder and CEO Katia Beauchamp.