Below are ways to find the deal where a private company is combined with a public SPAC (often through a type of reserve merger) as a way to be taken public.

Best Overall

Capital IQ

Capital IQ (GSB only, and you need a Capital IQ account) has a pre-made screen for when a SPAC combines with a private company.

1. Hover over the Screening tab and click on Idea Generation.
2. In the search box in the middle of the page, search for SPAC and select the desired screen. Select SPACs - Business Combinations. This is searching for blank check companies doing a reverse merger transactions.
   1. Alternate option: Select SPACs that have Announced a Merger if you're looking for a list of SPAC's, rather than transactions.
3. Add any additional filters to the screen, such as by date.
   1. Consider screening by just IPOs on major US exchanges. In the Equity Details box, select Exchanges. Add Major US Exchanges to the Selected Items and press Add Criteria.
4. Click View Results, where you can edit the columns that display, save the screen, download to Excel, or click on the companies for more details about that firm or transaction.

Best for Large Research Projects - SDC Platinum

SDC Platinum has historical, point-in-time information about IPOs and other deals. Contact us for more guidance on merging SDC data with sources like CRSP or Compustat.

1. After you log into SDC, use the instructions for how to download data from SDC as a guide.
2. Use the Mergers & Acquisitions database and select either US or Non-US Targets.
3. When building your screen, use the flag for Blank Check Company Flag Y/N which is defined as "set to "Y" when the Issuer is a blank Check Company or Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle." Note that you may get some false positives with blank check companies that are not SPACs.
4. To limit to major US exchanges (and specifically for merging with CRSP), when building the search/screen in SDC, use the Primary Exchange of Issue/Borrowers Stock variable.
   1. Double click on it to select the specific exchanges. Depending on the time range, if you're doing major US exchanges, you'll want: NYSE, AMEX, New York, American, and NASDAQ.

Other Options

FactSet

FactSet is a good alternative to Capital IQ, and you'll need a FactSet account. To get a list of M&A transactions where the acquirer is a SPAC:

1. Search for and open the Idea Screening application.
2. Under Transactions, select Start this Screen next to M&A.
3. In the Search for Items box, search for SPAC. Double click on Blank Check/SPAC Acquirer. In the new box at the bottom of the center of the screen, check the box next to Blank Check/SPAC Acquirer.
4. To help filter out false positives that are other types of blank check companies, in the Search for Items box, search for and double click on reverse merger. In the new box at the bottom of the center of the screen, check the box next to Reverse Merger.
5. Add any other filters (like limiting to major US exchanges) and/or adjust the announcement date.
6. Click the green View button in the upper right to view the results. You can edit the columns that display (click Edit Report), save the screen, download to Excel, or click on the companies for more details about individual firms.

To see pending SPAC deals (where the target company is a PE/VC-backed private company):

1. Launch the Markets app.
2. In the left navigation, expand Private Markets and select Private Investments Dashboard.
3. Find the Pending SPAC Deals box on the page. Click Launch Screening to modify screening criteria and see more details.

LSEG Workspace

LSEG Workspace – see LSEG Workspace access help is good substitute for Capital IQ and it has the same data as SDC Platinum. There are some differences in what variables are available in SDC and LSEG Workspace, so let us know if you have questions. To get a list of M&A activity with SPACs (note: this returns much fewer results than in Capital IQ):

1. In the upper left, search for and open the Screener app.
2. In the left panel, next to Universe use the drop down to select Deals.
3. In the Asset Class drop down select M&A.
4. In the Add Filter search box, search for and select Blank Check Company Flag. You may get some false positives with blank check companies that are not SPACs.
5. Add any other filters, like the Primary Stock Exchange filter to NYSE and NASDAQ. You could also search for and select Reserve Takeover Flag, as many SPAC combinations use this deal structure.
6. Add or remove columns to get additional information about the deals.

Bloomberg Terminal

In Bloomberg, search for SPACs in the main command bar and select the option in the functions list for Mergers & Acquisitions SPACs.