Another SPAC bites the dust and this time it’s Ackrell SPAC Partners who had an agreement to combine with griddle maker Blackstone Products. This deal seemed unlikely to happen once they filed for their most recent extension back in June and now it’s officially dead.
It seemed like the writing was on the wall when a Blackstone refused to fund a $200k loan for the extension last week and that has proven to be true. The final twist though is it didn’t die just because Ackrell couldn’t find another $200k loan. According to an SEC filing, Blackstone sent notice on August 27th “purporting to unilaterally terminate the Business Combination Agreement”.
There are many reasons that the deal could have fallen apart, but the bad grill sales environment was likely a main culprit. In the original materials, a main thesis was that Blackstone was a good buy because of their fast growth. If the after effects of the pandemic dramatically slowed that growth, it makes it harder to sell the story.
Hopefully the deal falling apart will be beneficial to Blackstone by giving them time back to focus on products. We’d still love to see their updated pizza oven by year end, as promised.