Colin Kaepernick aims to tackle social justice with special-purpose company

Before GameStop mania sent fears of a market bubble into overdrive, Wall Street’s skeptics were watching the SPAC frenzy. And while meme stocks are in retreat, the explosion of special-purpose acquisition companies keeps gathering strength.

What’s happening: Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is among the latest to get in on the trend, in which investors back “blank check” companies that then go hunting for acquisition targets.

Kaepernick will serve as co-chair of Mission Advancement Corp., which is seeking to raise about $250 million to invest in socially conscious consumer brands.

Big picture: Blank check companies like Kaepernick’s have cropped up left and right over the past year as investors — flush with cash and searching for returns, thanks to loose central bank policies — look for more creative places to park their money.

Once an obscure part of the market, 229 SPACs raised $76 billion in 2020, according to Goldman Sachs. That’s up from just $13 billion in 2019.

Enthusiasm has only increased in 2021. Per Goldman, SPACs raised $16 billion during the first three weeks of 2021, and a spate of new filings since then indicates the pace isn’t letting up.

Former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is looking to raise about $500 million for his SPAC, Slam Corp, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. On Tuesday, Rocket Internet co-founder Oliver Samwer said his SPAC would raise $250 million for deals outside the United States.

Some SPACs have already identified takeover targets. Many have been in the transportation sector. Wheels Up announced last week it would go public by merging with a SPAC in a deal that values the private aviation company at $2.1 billion. Hyzon Motors, which makes hydrogen-powered trucks, buses and coaches, announced its public market debut via a SPAC merger on Tuesday.

Here’s how a Reddit group blew up GameStop’s stock

The GameStop frenzy on Wall Street has had investors, and much of the internet, enraptured. Here’s the background you need to know to understand it all.