ShiftPixy Inc. (NASDAQ: PIXY) announced last Friday that it was stepping back from three special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, it was in the process of forming. ShiftPixy said it was withdrawing registration statements filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the firms. However, the Miami-based company said it plans to proceed with a fourth SPAC, Industrial Human Capital (NYSE: AXH), that has already gone public. IHC is focused on acquiring industrial staffing firms.
“After considering our options and the current market environment, we determined that the best use of our time and resources would be to devote ourselves to the Industrial Human Capital de-SPAC process,” ShiftPixy CEO Scott Absher said.
“We concluded that ShiftPixy can best achieve its SPAC sponsorship goals, including expansion of its own footprint, by doing everything possible to ensure Industrial Human Capital’s ultimate success without distraction,” Absher continued. “Our decision to withdraw our sponsorship from the other SPACs does not impact our goal of building large national staffing clients to operate on the ShiftPixy technology platform, which remains unchanged and continues to move forward.”
The three SPACs for which ShiftPixy is withdrawing registration statements are Vital Human Capital Inc., TechStackery Inc. and Firemark Global Capital.
Investopedia defines SPACs, also known as blank check companies, as “a company that has no commercial operations and is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering or the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company.”
In a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, ShiftPixy said it had planned to raise $100 million for each of the three. Funds for Vital Human Capital and TechStackery would have gone toward acquiring healthcare staffing companies and technology staffing firms, respectively. Firemark would have looked to acquire insurance entities that provide workers’ comp and related insurance products.
ShiftPixy’s remaining SPAC, Industrial Human Capital, held an initial public offering on Oct. 22, 2021, and raised $115 million, according to an SEC filing. ShiftPixy intends to use IHC as a vehicle to acquire companies in the light industrial staffing segment.