Drew Bernstein, Co-Managing Partner, MarcumBP

    Recent Posts

    No Break in Asia’s M&A Festivities Says Euan Rellie

    Private equity cash piles, soaring stocks keep dealmaker’s dance card flush

    If any dealmaker felt the pandemic pinch, one would expect it to be Euan Rellie, founder of cross-border M&A boutique investment bank BDA Partners. The sun never sets on BDA’s sprawling network of corporate matchmakers, with offices across Asia’s burgeoning economies, New York, and London. But COVID travel restrictions meant bankers and clients alike had their wings clipped for most of 2020, unable to peruse the tasty corporate assets on offer in places like China, Vietnam, India, and Korea.

    In Cross Border M&A, Advisory, China Economy

    Bright Outlook for China IPOs Despite Policy Clouds

    Ravenous appetite for new listings in 2021, if politics doesn’t spoil the party

    The U.S. IPO market is off to a rollicking start in 2021, with 114 new listings in the month of January that have raised $36.1 billion. The top performer so far? RLX Technology, the Chinese e-cigarette purveyor that rocketed 146% on the first day's trading, is currently hovering at twice its offering price.

    In Investing in China, IPOs

    Chinese Companies Continued to Flock to U.S. Markets in 2020 Despite Regulatory Headwinds

    Best year for China IPOs since 2014, with proceeds up by 270% over 2019 to $13.3 billion

    The White House put over a dozen Chinese companies on an investment blacklist. Congress passed legislation to enforce long-neglected requirements for audit inspections or delist the offending companies from U.S. exchanges. China’s government announced antitrust investigations that shook the value of internet goliaths, Alibaba and Tencent.

    In IPOs

    Could the SPAC craze come to Hong Kong?

    Four special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) headquartered in Hong Kong carried out an initial public offering in the United States this year.

    Highlights from a keynote speech on ‘IPO Success Factors for Tech Companies from Greater China’ at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum

    For those unfamiliar with the term, SPACs, also known as ‘blank check companies’, seek to pool money from investors with a plan to acquire an existing asset. For example, it could be a company whose existing investors are looking for an exit and would be happy to sell their interest. For companies, it gives them a convenient method of getting onto an exchange – SPACs are already listed on stock markets through an initial public offering (IPO) – and it gives the people backing the SPAC a chance to quickly get exposure to an emerging trend like the stock market bull run experienced by technology companies this year.

    In Advisory

    The Year of the SPAC

    With $40 Billion of Capital Available, Will SPACs Become a Viable Alternative to the Traditional IPO?

    Amid this year’s white-hot IPO market, the SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, has incinerated previous records for this once-obscure financing vehicle. Thus far, in 2020, 116 SPACs have been funded through initial public offerings, raising $40 billion. SPACs make up the single largest “industry” group in 2020’s crop of IPOs, accounting for 45% of the number of new issues and 44% of total capital raised. More "blank check" companies debuted on NASDAQ and NYSE in August and September than "real" operating companies. The financing vehicle has attracted a host of luminaries, from investment icons like Bill Ackman of Pershing Square and Peter Thiel, baseball savant Billy Beane of “Moneyball,” and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

    In SEC Audits, Advisory
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