Swiss SME’s Successful SPAC Transaction Brings Uncertainty to IPO Environment

In Switzerland, an SME has chosen a rare SPAC transaction to go public, and it is uncertain whether the small R&S Group or its investors will benefit the most. Despite a poor environment for IPOs, the industrial company from Sissach (BL) ventured onto the Swiss stock exchange with a strong start in trading, closing with a gain of almost 13 percent. This marked the first “real” IPO with capital raising on the Swiss stock exchange this year.

The R&S Group did not go public through the traditional route. Instead, they offered their shares after a SPAC transaction. SPAC stands for Special Purpose Acquisition Company, where an already listed vehicle (in this case a SPAC called VT5) takes over a company, in this case the R&S Group, allowing it to go public. This IPO is remarkable given the current uncertain environment for such deals. SPACs experienced a boom until the end of 2021, but the trend has slowed down in the current year. Despite this, the R&S Group successfully completed the SPAC transaction, positioning itself on the stock exchange.

The funds raised from the IPO will mainly be used to pay off