SpacDeskMethodology
How we measure coverage
SpacDesk tracks 2,209 SPACs across 31,686 SEC filings spanning 30 years. This page explains what we cover, how we source it, and what the confidence labels mean.
Universe inclusion
A SPAC enters the SpacDesk universe when it files a registration statement (S-1 or S-1/A) with the SEC that identifies it as a blank check company. We include every SPAC that has appeared on EDGAR regardless of current status — searching, deal announced, in vote, closed, liquidated, or withdrawn. Historical SPACs dating back to 1996 are included from retrospective EDGAR crawls.
We do not apply minimum-size or exchange-listing filters. Sub-$50M trusts, OTC-listed vehicles, and SPACs that never completed an IPO are all present if they filed with the SEC.
Filing types mirrored
SpacDesk mirrors the full set of SPAC-relevant SEC filing types from EDGAR. Every filing is stored locally and parsed for structured data extraction.
Start date and historical depth
Our earliest filing dates to 1996, giving 30 years of continuous SPAC coverage. Historical data is sourced from full EDGAR index crawls and retrospective parsing — not just real-time feeds. This means SPACs that were active before SpacDesk existed are fully represented.
Update frequency
The ingest pipeline runs continuously. New EDGAR filings are detected and mirrored within minutes of publication. Structured data extraction (trust values, deal terms, vote results, entity linking) follows within the same pipeline cycle.
| Data type | Refresh cadence |
|---|---|
| SEC filings | Near-real-time (minutes from EDGAR) |
| Trust values | Daily modeling + filing-derived updates |
| Universe status | Continuous (event-driven) |
| Alerts | Evaluated on each pipeline cycle |
| News | Filing-derived + RSS aggregation every ~30 min |
Citation coverage
Every data point in SpacDesk carries a provenance chain. When you see a trust value, deal term, or ownership percentage, you can trace it back to the exact filing line it was extracted from. This is not metadata annotation after the fact — extraction and citation happen in the same pipeline step.
Citation depth varies by data type. Core deal economics (trust per share, redemption rates, earnout structures, sponsor fees) are citation-anchored to specific S-4/PREM14A passages. Derived metrics (yield to redemption, trust accretion rates) cite their input values and the calculation methodology.
Estimate vs. reported
SpacDesk distinguishes three provenance levels for every value, shown as badges throughout the product:
When a reported value supersedes an estimate (e.g., a new filing confirms an actual redemption rate), the estimate is replaced and the provenance updates automatically.