스팩(SPAC)의 성공적 합병을 위한 결정요인: 스폰서의 이해상충 vs. 협상력 (Determinants for Successful Mergers through SPACs: Sponsor’s Conflict of Interest vs. Bargaining Power)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국금융학회
· 수록지 정보 : 금융연구 / 36권 / 3호 / 1 ~ 52페이지
· 저자명 : 강형철, 변희섭

초록

본 연구는 우리나라 SPAC 자료를 대상으로 어떤 SPAC이 합병에 성공하는지의 결정요인을 분석한 후, 합병공시일 전후하여 SPAC 주주부가 어떤 요인에 의해 영향을 받는지를 추가로 분석한다. SPAC의 합병 결정요인에 대한 로짓분석 결과, 다양한 요인을 통제하고 최대주주가 임원에 참여하는 SPAC일수록, SPAC에 대한 주관사 지분율이 높을수록 합병가능성이 높아짐을 발견한다. 이는 SPAC의 소유-경영의 일치와 주관사의 경제적 유인이 합병을 위해 중요한 요인임을 의미한다. 합병공시를 전후한 SPAC의 주식성과를 분석한 결과, 스폰서의 지분율이 높을수록, 피합병기업의 내부지분율이 작을수록, SPAC 주주의 주식매수청구비율이 낮을수록, 재무적으로 취약한 피합병기업일수록, IPO 이후 합병까지 기간이 짧을수록 SPAC의 주식성과는 높아지는 것으로 나타난다. 이는 SPAC과 피합병기업 사이에 나타날 수 있는 협상력의 차이가 합병프리미엄에 영향을 미치는 것으로 해석된다. 또한 SPAC 주주의 입장에서 피합병기업에게 과잉지불(overpayment)하는 경우 SPAC의 주주부가 훼손되기 때문에 피합병기업과의 비교를 통해 협상력의 차이를 면밀히 검토할 필요가 있음을 시사한다. 이상의 결과는 우리나라 SPAC 시장의 엄격한 규제 및 피합병기업의 집중된 소유구조로 인해 미국 SPAC 시장에서 자주 언급되는 스폰서와 일반투자자 사이에 이해상충문제는 크게 부각되지 않는다는 것을 의미한다.

영어초록

A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (“SPAC”) is a paper company whose purpose is to acquire a privately held company. After being established by promoters, SPAC raises funds through an IPO. Then, they discover a privately held company with high profitability and growth and merge them. If SPAC succeeds in the merger, a privately held company is converted into a listed company. However, the legal personality of the SPAC remains, while those of a privately held company are extinguished. If the merger is not completed within the deadline (3 years), SPAC will liquidate after distributing the public offering funds to the shareholders.
In the United States, the number of SPAC IPOs exploded in 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak began in earnest. In Korea, interest in SPAC is increasing in the stock market, with soaring stock prices in the SPAC IPOs. Contrary to this reality, there is very little academic research. In early 2010, when SPAC was introduced in Korea, many SPACs failed to merge. For this reason, the sample of SPACs for statistical analysis was insufficient. However, since 2015, the number of SPAC IPOs and SPACs that completed the merger has increased rapidly. Therefore, a sufficient sample for the analysis has been secured. This study uses SPAC IPOs from 2010 to March 2022 as a sample.
This study investigates the determinants of successful mergers with a target company through SPACs in Korea. As independent variables, we consider the characteristics of the SPAC IPO, the characteristics and experiences of sponsors such as promoters and underwriters, the ownership structure of the SPAC, and other institutional variables. Meanwhile, for the merger to be successful, the post-merger performance will need to improve. This is because, due to the incentive system of SPAC sponsors, who can reap huge profits if the merger is successful, there is a possibility that they will try unreasonable mergers with insolvent companies. Thus, we analyze which factors can affect the wealth of shareholders of SPACs, focusing on the merger announcement returns. Empirically, we find that the likelihood of mergers increases in SPACs where the largest shareholder participates as management and the underwriter has high ownership. This implies that the alignment of ownership and management in SPACs and underwriters’ economic incentives are important for successful mergers. Cumulative abnormal returns of mergers are highly observed in SPACs with the high ownership of sponsors, the low insider ownership of the target company, the low redemption of SPAC shareholders, the low financial quality of the target company, and the shorter period between IPOs and mergers. These results mean that the difference in bargaining power between SPACs and the target company affects the merger premium. We can conclude that the conflict of interest between sponsors and investors, which is often raised in the U.S. market, is not serious in Korea due to strict regulations and the concentrated ownership structure in the target company.

참고자료

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