In SPAC news this week, Digital World Acquisition, the SPAC merging with Trump Media, was in the spotlight as Twitter and Elon Musk reached a deal.

Trump-Linked SPAC in Spotlight

Elon Musk's deal to acquire Twitter (TWTR) prompted volatility in shares of Digital World Acquisition (DWAC). Back in October, the SPAC said it was merging with Trump Media, which has launched Twitter competitor Truth Social.

The underperformance was, however, short-lived, with the SPAC shares spiking later in the week amid tweets from Elon Musk. "Truth Social is currently beating Twitter & TikTok on the Apple Store," Musk tweeted. "Truth Social (terrible name) exists because Twitter censored free speech," Tesla's CEO said in a follow-up tweet.

Amid the news, the status of Donald Trump's Twitter account was also in the spotlight. Twitter had banned the former President from the service on Jan. 8, 2021, "due to the risk of further incitement of violence" following the Capitol Riots. Bloomberg's Brad Stone noted in a report that Musk said he prefers to stay out of politics, but there are good reasons to suspect a Musk-owned Twitter would reactivate the account.

Beyond saying at TED that he wants to be “very cautious with permanent bans,” the executive applauded the former president two years ago when Trump supported Tesla’s plans to reopen a California car factory during the COVID-19 lockdown. Additionally, in a few recent tweets, Musk appears to embrace the right-wing perspective on various cultural points, the author noted.

On Monday, April 25, Twitter announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Tesla (TSLA) founder Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.

Isleworth Healthcare, Cytovia Combination

Isleworth Healthcare Acquisition Corp. (ISLE), a special purpose acquisition company, and Cytovia Holdings, a biopharmaceutical company empowering natural killer, or NK, cells to fight cancer through stem cell engineering and multispecific antibodies, announced they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement.

Upon consummation of this combination, Isleworth will be renamed Cytovia Therapeutics and its common stock and warrants are expected to remain listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbols 'INKC' and 'INKCW,' respectively. The combined company will continue Cytovia's operations and remain focused on developing and manufacturing complementary NK cell and NK engager antibody platforms.

The transaction, which has been approved by each of Isleworth's and Cytovia's boards of directors, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022, subject to approval by Isleworth's and Cytovia's shareholders and satisfaction, or the waiver of, customary closing conditions identified in the business combination agreement.

Analyst Coverage

On April 29, Lake Street analyst Troy Jensen initiated coverage of CleanTech Acquisition (CLAQ) - which has agreed to a business combination agreement that will result in Nauticus Robotics becoming a publicly listed company - with a Buy rating and $14 price target. Upon closing of the transaction, CleanTech will be renamed Nauticus Robotics and is expected to remain listed on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol 'KITT.' 

Nauticus, which has pioneered the "Robotics-as-a-Service" business model, is disrupting the $30 billion underwater maintenance, inspection, and data collection industry, said Jensen, who believes Nauticus will have "little to no problem" reaching its target of roughly $200 million in revenues in 2024.

SPAC IPOs This Week

• ClimateRock (CLRC) opened on April 28 at $10.06. The company intends to focus on acquiring a target within the sustainable energy industry in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, including climate change, environment, renewable energy, and emerging, clean technologies.
• Chenghe Acquisition (CHEA) opened on April 28 at $10.08. While the company may pursue a business combination target in any business, industry, or location, it intends to focus on "financial technology or technology-enabled financial service companies, including artificial intelligence, big data, cloud, and blockchain-related initiatives in Asian markets, which can benefit from the expertise and capabilities of the company's management team to create long-term shareholder value." However, the company will not undertake its initial business combination with any entity based in or with its principal business operations in Mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau.