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NightDragon Cybersecurity SPAC Launches $300M IPO

NightDragon Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) focused on the cybersecurity market, has raised $300 million in an initial public offering (IPO).

NightDragon Acquisition Corp. is led by former McAfee and FireEye CEO Dave DeWalt. Not by coincidence, DeWalt leads a venture-capital firm named NightDragon.

NightDragon Acquisition Corp. was formed to pursue a merger, acquisition, stock purchase or reorganization. Potential M&A targets include businesses in the cybersecurity, safety, security and privacy sector, among other areas, the company says.

This is the second major piece of cybersecurity-related SPAC news today. The other chatter involves QOMPLX merging with a SPAC called Tailwind Acquisition Corp.

What is a SPAC?

A SPAC or “blank check” company is designed to raise funds in an initial public offering (IPO) with the aim of acquiring a private business. That private company then becomes public as result of the merger, Reuters notes.

The SPAC trend helped to fuel $63 billion of IPO fundraising worldwide in January 2021, more than five times the proceeds from the same period a year earlier, Bloomberg reports.

ChannelE2E is tracking an expansive list of technology SPACs here. We’re also watching to see if MSSPs (managed security services providers) merge with SPACs in order to trade publicly.

Is There A SPAC Bubble?

Amid all the SPAC activity, some pundits believe we’re heading toward a SPAC bubble — which involves too much money potentially flowing to lower-quality companies that perhaps shouldn’t be publicly held.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.