SPAC IPO volume has already blown past all of 2025 — and the market isn't slowing down. Mike Blankenship breaks down what's fueling the record pace, why PIPE pricing is validating deal valuations, and how serial sponsors are driving the next wave.

In this SPAC Market Update, Michael Blankenship, Managing Partner and Capital Markets Practice Co-chair at Winston Taylor, joins host Joshua Wilson to unpack a record year for SPAC issuance. With IPO volume already topping all of 2025, Mike breaks down what's driving the surge: the return of experienced, serial sponsors, stronger-capitalized deals, and expanding sector interest in defense, space, AI, infrastructure, and life sciences — plus why growth in the PIPE market signals real valuation confidence heading into Q4.

What We Cover:

• Why SPAC IPO volume already topped 2025's full-year total
• The return of serial sponsors and what it signals about market maturity
• How Ursa Major's SPAC deal reflects sponsor interest in defense tech
• Why sponsors are targeting defense, space, AI, and infrastructure
• How PIPE financing validates SPAC deal valuations
• What life sciences SPAC activity looks like right now
• Why stronger-capitalized transactions are becoming the norm
• Capital availability heading into Labor Day and Q4
• What a busier back half of the year could mean for issuance

Connect with Mike Blankenship
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship

About Winston Taylor
Winston Taylor is an international law firm with a capital markets practice that works with companies and sponsors across the SPAC and public-company lifecycle. Learn more at winstontaylor.com.

Interested in joining a future episode? Reach out at thespacpodcast.com, and learn more about the network behind the show at oneironnetwork.com.

Follow The SPAC Podcast
Website: thespacpodcast.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thespacpodcast
YouTube: youtube.com/@thespacpodcast

A One Iron Network production: Executive Producer Joshua Wilson

Disclaimer: Michael J. Blankenship is a licensed attorney and partner at Winston Taylor. Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or compliance advice. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of any regulatory agency, law firm, organization, or employer. Listeners should consult their own legal counsel, compliance teams, or financial advisors to ensure adherence to applicable regulations, including SEC, FINRA, and other industry-specific requirements. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.

Let's Connect on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/

To Contact Us, Please Visit:

https://www.TheSPACPodcast.com/contact/

135 SPAC IPOs year to date. $26 billion raised. 359 SPACs still outstanding and competing for targets. Mike Blankenship breaks down what those numbers mean if you are sponsoring a SPAC or sitting on the target side of the table.

Michael (Mike) Blankenship, Managing Partner at Winston Taylor and co-chair of the firm's Capital Markets practice, joins Executive Producer Joshua Wilson for a market update on where SPACs stand in August 2026. The conversation covers issuance pace, trust size and the dilution math behind target sizing, the reopening of the PIPE market, how sponsor terms shift between a first SPAC and a ninth, what has changed at the SEC since the July 2024 rules, and how targets use SPAC timelines as leverage.

What We Cover
- Issuance pace: 135 SPAC IPOs to date against 57 in 2024 and 144 last year
- Roughly $26 billion raised, with average trust size near $200 million
- Why the 80% test is a floor and dilution drives target sizing
- 44-plus announced de-SPAC deals at close to $40 billion in value
- The PIPE market reopening, and why a pre-signing PIPE validates valuation
- Sectors with real revenue: infrastructure, defense, data centers, digital assets
- First-time versus serial sponsors: warrants, rights, and cap structure alignment
- Fewer SEC comments and more no-review IPOs since the July 2024 rules
- 359 SPACs outstanding, exclusivity, and target leverage as the clock winds down

Connect with Mike Blankenship
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship

About Winston Taylor
Winston Taylor is an international law firm with a capital markets practice that works with companies and sponsors across the SPAC and public-company lifecycle. Learn more at winstontaylor.com.

Interested in joining a future episode? The SPAC Podcast connects sponsors, management teams, bankers, and capital markets counsel. Learn more at thespacpodcast.com and oneironnetwork.com.

Follow The SPAC Podcast
Website: thespacpodcast.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thespacpodcast
YouTube: youtube.com/@thespacpodcast

A One Iron Network production: Executive Producer Joshua Wilson

Disclaimer: Michael J. Blankenship is a licensed attorney and partner at Winston Taylor. Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or compliance advice. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of any regulatory agency, law firm, organization, or employer. Listeners should consult their own legal counsel, compliance teams, or financial advisors to ensure adherence to applicable regulations, including SEC, FINRA, and other industry-specific requirements. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.

Let's Connect on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/

To Contact Us, Please Visit:

https://www.TheSPACPodcast.com/contact/

Mike Ring spent 30 years as a corporate securities lawyer. Then he co-founded a bank — and took it through a de-SPAC that required something almost no SPAC target faces: Federal Reserve approval.

Mike Ring, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Old Glory Bank and former Greenberg Traurig corporate securities partner, joins host Mike Blankenship to break down what may be the first bank de-SPAC. Ring walks through the regulatory path unique to a bank holding company — Federal Reserve approval under the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act, layered on top of the SEC process — plus why a SPAC beat an underwritten IPO or direct listing for a state-chartered Oklahoma bank, and why he made the public company's home in Texas.

What We Cover:
- Why banks almost never pursue de-SPACs
- Federal Reserve approval under the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act, on top of SEC review
- OCC charters vs. state charters for an Oklahoma-chartered bank
- Deal timeline: LOI in October, BCA in January, effective in July
- Why an underwritten offering or direct listing wasn't a realistic path to Nasdaq
- A securities lawyer as his own client: "a lawyer always makes the worst client"
- Texas domestication and where the state's new exchange may fit later
- Digital assets in the bank's roadmap after the GENIUS Act

Connect with Mike Ring:
Website: oldglorybank.com
Podcast: PSL — open.spotify.com/show/6MUR8ZtDk1Gs6t7tF5sDIH

Connect with Mike Blankenship:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship

About Winston Taylor: Winston Taylor is an international law firm with a capital markets practice that works with companies and sponsors across the SPAC and public-company lifecycle. Learn more at winstontaylor.com.

Interested in joining a future episode? The SPAC Podcast is part of One Iron Network, a media network for dealmakers, investors, and capital markets professionals. Visit thespacpodcast.com and oneironnetwork.com.

Follow The SPAC Podcast:
Website: thespacpodcast.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thespacpodcast
YouTube: youtube.com/@thespacpodcast

Disclaimer: Michael J. Blankenship is a licensed attorney and partner at Winston Taylor. Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or compliance advice. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of any regulatory agency, law firm, organization, or employer. Listeners should consult their own legal counsel, compliance teams, or financial advisors to ensure adherence to applicable regulations, including SEC, FINRA, and other industry-specific requirements. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.

Let's Connect on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeblankenship/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/

To Contact Us, Please Visit:

https://www.TheSPACPodcast.com/contact/