05:00 PM - 06:00 PM (Pacific)
06:00 PM - 07:00 PM (Mountain)
07:00 PM - 08:00 PM (Central)
08:00 PM - 09:00 PM (Eastern)

Register

Zoom invitation will be shared the day before the event.

Overview

Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions may be considered by Board of Directors of private operating companies as a capital-raising alternative to initial public offerings (IPO) or other financing activities. SPAC transactions result in the private operating company (Target) becoming a public company. As a result, SPAC transactions require the Target and specifically, its Board of Directors, to devote substantial time and resources to legal, regulatory, finance, technical accounting and reporting matters. Although SPACs have been used for decades as alternative investment vehicles, they have recently come into vogue as seasoned investors and management teams have turned to SPACs to mitigate the increased market volatility risk of traditional IPOs. Accordingly, our panel will be discussing (i) the legal, accounting and finance considerations of undertaking a SPAC and demystifying the process a private operating company’s Board of Directors would undertake to evaluate a SPAC transaction as an IPO alternative, (ii) the strategies and best practices to execute a SPAC transaction effectively; and (iii) real-world examples of pitfalls and challenges that could impact your SPAC transaction.

Thank you to our National and Gold Chapter Sponsors!

Panelists

Hinesh Patel Partner CNM LLP

Hinesh leads and oversees the firm’s Accounting Transaction Service (ATS) practice. He brings a vast knowledge of US GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) reporting requirements to his role at CNM. Hinesh primarily focuses on technical accounting, IPO readiness, SEC reporting, and mergers and acquisitions.  Prior to joining CNM, Hinesh worked as a Senior Manager at Deloitte on both the assurance and advisory groups, with a primary focus in the technology, manufacturing, and entertainment industries for public and private companies. He has assisted many companies through the IPO process and advised on a range of accounting services including technical accounting, financial reporting, and new business process requirements.

Drew Hamer CFO Velodyne Lidar

Drew Hamer works with the leadership team on financial strategy and leads the finance organization with forecasting, budgeting, and accounting. He is a seasoned finance executive with over 25 years of financial leadership experience at public and pre-public technology companies. Working at companies like ON24, Keynote Systems, KnowNow, Intraspect Software, Excite@Home and Sybase, Drew managed investor relations, implemented financial efficiencies, raised capital and oversaw the expansion of financial and business operations throughout the world, both organically and thru acquisitions. He is a member of Financial Executives International, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Jonathan Berns SVP, Global Commercial Banking Bank of America Merrill Lynch

During his 13 years with Bank of America, Jonathan has been focused on delivering comprehensive banking solutions to middle market and mid-corporate companies. He is currently a Senior Relationship Manager for the Los Angeles Mid-Cap Group. In this capacity, Jonathan focuses on developing and managing banking relationships with mid-corporate companies, and works closely with bank specialists to deliver the full array of banking services that Bank of America has to offer. Those services include credit, investment banking, treasury management, and risk management solutions. Prior to this role, he was a Portfolio Manager in which he delivered debt capital solutions to companies in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. 

Rob Brass Managing Director, Head of Mobility BofA Securities

Rob Brass is a senior leader in the Mobility Investment Banking practice at BofA Securities.  He has been in the investment banking arena for over 20 years, with a technology focus for the last 15.  Prior to BofA, he was at Morgan Stanley for 13 years in the Menlo Park Technology Banking practice, most recently as a Managing Director leading the Semiconductor, Autotech and Electronics Practice.  Rob’s primary focus is companies in the Mobility market, with additional coverage in emerging sectors including wearables, loT, industrial 2.0 and AR/VR.  He is based in Palo Alto

Rob has extensive experience advising a broad range of technology companies in capital raises and strategic transactions.  Select IPO financings include Ambarella, Atheros, Avago, Cavium, Inphi, Intermolecular, Invensense, Maxlinear, NXP, SiRF, Spansion, Likedln, Pandora, Amyris, DemandMedia, Groupon, Isilon Systems, Jive, Responsys, ServiceSource, Solazyme, Tesla and Zynga.  He has also advised on financings for technology companies including Ancestry, Cadence, Freescale, GoPro, Impinj, Micron, Microsemi, Microship, Lucid Motors, Oclaro, ONSemi, Rovi, SanDisk, Sigmatel and Verigy.  Select advisory transactions include NXP’s acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor, Murata’s acquisition of Peregrine Secmiconductor, Qualcomm’s acquisition of Flarion Technology, Applied Material’s acquisition of Applied Films, Microsemi’s acquisition of PMC-Sierrra, Lifesize’s sale to Logitech, and E2O Communications’ sale to JDS

Rob has an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a BS from Gettysburg College

Moderator

Bryan Wasser Principal Polsinelli

Bryan is a principal in the Corporate and Transactional practice at Polsinelli, a law firm with 900 attorneys in 21 offices nationwide. He has experience representing public and private companies in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, cross-border transactions, venture and growth capital corporate finance, joint ventures, state and federal securities reporting including Exchange Act and Section 16 compliance and other general corporate and securities matters. In addition, Bryan represents entrepreneurs and emerging companies in corporate formation, venture capital financings, incentive equity and general corporate matters. Bryan’s understanding of structuring private equity deals and navigating corporate securities transactions is well grounded by his background as a certified public accountant.

Register