The IPO of Blackstone Griddle maker, Blackstone Products, might be delayed again. The business combination with Ackrell SPAC Partners and IPO was set to occur by June 23rd, but a recent proxy filing proposes pushing that back to September 23d, 2022. A vote on the extension is set to occur on June 21st. This proposed extension would mark the third extension of the business combination.
The Ackrell board unanimously recommends approval of the extension.
The Board currently believes that there will not be sufficient time before June 23, 2022 to complete the Business Combination. Accordingly, the Board believes that in order to be able to consummate the Business Combination, we will need to obtain the Extension.
May 26, 2022 – DEF 14A Proxy Filing
If the proposal isn’t approved by shareholders, the Blackstone IPO would be dead in the water.
No additional details were given on the source of the delays of the business combination. This is happening at the backdrop of market volatility and increased scrutiny on SPAC deals.
Interestingly enough, despite the potential problems with the IPO, Blackstone posted a video on their Instagram of cooking outside the NYSE. That is traditionally something that would be done in a lead-up to an IPO, so the timing is odd with another proposed delay.
As a side note, eagle-eyed readers will notice a new pizza oven prominently displayed in Blackstone’s video. It seems likely that they’re releasing that product.