By Senad Karaahmetovic
Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital, has said today he is winding down two investment vehicles after failing to find a target company.
Two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), IPOD and IPOF, are shutting down with funds raised being returned to their respective shareholders.
“Over the past two years, we evaluated more than 100 targets and while we came close to doing a deal several times, we ultimately walked away each time for a couple of reasons,” Palihapitiya said in a blog post.
Among other things, the billionaire investor named valuation and volatility as two key factors that prevented him from striking a deal.
“Ultimately, to get a deal done would have required us stretching on price or buying an inferior asset – neither were things we felt comfortable doing,” Palihapitiya added.
The investor said he stays committed to investing "in big ideas at the early stage."
“Our view on SPACs remains consistent since our first deal – SPACs are just one of many tools in our toolkit to support companies as they enter subsequent stages of growth. Meanwhile, we are continuing to search for targets for the two remaining vehicles in our Bio 2.0 platform,” he concluded.