SpacDeskTrust Account
An escrow account, typically held at a major bank, where the proceeds from a SPAC's IPO are deposited and held in U.S. Treasury securities or money-market funds until a business combination is completed or the SPAC liquidates.
When a SPAC completes its IPO, substantially all of the gross proceeds — typically 100% of the amount raised from public shareholders, plus a portion of the underwriting fee deferred until closing — are deposited into a trust account. The trust is invested in short-term U.S. government securities or money-market instruments, accruing interest over the SPAC's search period.
The trust serves two purposes: it protects public shareholders' capital while the sponsor searches for a target, and it provides a floor value (the "redemption price") that shareholders can claim if they choose not to participate in the proposed business combination. Trust values are reported quarterly in 10-Q and 10-K filings through iXBRL-tagged balance sheet line items, and SpacDesk models daily per-share trust values by accreting from these quarterly anchors at the prevailing T-bill rate.
If the SPAC fails to complete a deal within its deadline — usually 18 to 24 months, extendable by shareholder vote — the trust is liquidated and distributed pro rata to public shareholders, minus taxes and dissolution expenses. Sponsor shares receive nothing from the trust in a liquidation.
Example SPACs
Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings. Example SPACs are drawn from the SpacDesk universe and selected to illustrate this concept. Definitions reflect standard SPAC structures; individual deals may vary.