Ropes & Gray Advises 3 IPOs, 1 Business Combination in April SPAC Wave

Ropes & Gray represented the underwriters in three special purpose acquisition company IPOs and the capital markets advisors in one SPAC business combination in April. This includes Gores Holdings X, Inc.’s $358.8 million IPO, the largest SPAC IPO to date this year.

Capital markets partner Christopher Capuzzi led the teams representing Santander Capital Markets US on the Gores Holdings X IPO and Cohen & Company Capital Markets on the IPOs of two SPACs – Digital Asset Acquisition Corp. and Real Asset Acquisition Corp. – that each raised $172.5 million. Tax partner Dan Zuckerman also advised on the Digital Asset and Real Asset IPOs.

Capital markets partner Paul Tropp represented Citigroup Global Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities as capital markets advisors to Ares Acquisition Corporation II in its proposed business combination with Kodiak Robotics, a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology. This was the second-largest announced business combination so far this year. Paul also advised on the Gores Holdings X IPO.

The transactions follow a strong year-to-date 2025 for SPACs, with 37 IPOs priced, 21 combinations announced, and 14 combinations completed, according to SPAC Insider.