Radcliffe's SPAC investments
Radcliffe Capital significantly boosts SPAC holdings, including a new $3.5M stake in Crown Reserve.
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Key Points
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In Crown Reserve Acquisition Corp. I (CRAC), Radcliffe Capital Management L.P. bought 350,000 shares valued at about $3.479 million and reported ownership of 1.62% in its latest SEC filing; Weiss Ratings also moved the stock on June 1 from “sell (e)” to “sell (e+)”.
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For LightWave Acquisition Corp. (LWAC), Radcliffe reported it owned 564,160 shares after adding 89,160 shares, with holdings worth about $5.664 million; Weiss Ratings’ May 1 note upgraded the rating from “sell (e+)” to “sell (d-)”.
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In Stellar V Capital Corp. (SVCC), Radcliffe increased its stake to 213,002 shares (adding 97,687), representing roughly 0.99% ownership and about $2.208 million in value; the article also highlighted an outsized move by Clear Street Group, which grew its position by 5,916% to 117,853 shares valued at $1.222 million, and listed SVCC’s market cap at $228.42 million with a P/E of 40.66.
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For IG Acquisition Corp. (IGAC), Radcliffe disclosed a new position of 550,000 shares valued at approximately $5.412 million, but with ownership of only about 0.05%—and the article noted Weiss Ratings lifted the rating from “sell (e-)” to “sell (e)” on June 1.
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In Gesher Acquisition Corp. II (GSHR), Radcliffe ended the quarter with 227,045 shares after purchasing an additional 58,339, valuing the position at about $2.331 million; the article also reported Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System added a stake worth approximately $4.107 million during the fourth quarter.
Radcliffe Capital Management L.P. made a fresh $3.5 million bet on Crown Reserve Acquisition Corp. I (CRAC), snapping up 350,000 shares and claiming a 1.62% ownership stake, according to a recent SEC filing reported by Watchlist News. The move is part of a broader push by the Philadelphia-based firm into Nasdaq-listed blank-check companies, with new or expanded positions across at least five SPACs totaling more than $19 million in disclosed value.
Despite the buying spree, ratings agency Weiss Ratings kept a "Sell" designation on every one of the targeted stocks. The firm did nudge CRAC one notch higher — from "sell (e)" to "sell (e+)" — on June 1, but analysts stress that upgrade reflects a technical tweak, not a change in the underlying business.
Radcliffe Builds a SPAC Portfolio Worth $19 Million
Radcliffe's biggest single new bet was in IG Acquisition Corp. (IGAC), where it opened a fresh position of 550,000 shares worth roughly $5.41 million, Watchlist News reported. It also raised its stake in LightWave Acquisition Corp. (LWAC) by 18.8%, bringing its total to 564,160 shares valued at about $5.66 million. Both moves were disclosed in Form 13F filings covering the fourth quarter.
The firm also added to two smaller positions. In Stellar V Capital Corp. (SVCC), Radcliffe bought 97,687 more shares, lifting its stake to 213,002 shares worth about $2.21 million — an 84.7% increase. In Gesher Acquisition Corp. II (GSHR), it added 58,339 shares to reach 227,045, valued at roughly $2.33 million.
Why Big Funds Buy Stocks Rated 'Sell'
The disconnect between institutional buying and "Sell" ratings is not an accident. SPACs hold investor cash in a trust account — usually invested in U.S. Treasuries — until they find a merger target. That trust creates a price floor, often near $10 per share. Firms like Radcliffe buy in near that floor to earn Treasury yields while holding a free option on a big merger upside. "Institutions aren't buying CRAC because they love the business model — they're buying the trust account," one senior SPAC market analyst explained.
Weiss Ratings' "Sell" grades are built around operating earnings and revenue. SPACs have neither. So the ratings flag what looks like a weak company but miss the arbitrage math that makes these trades attractive to credit-focused funds. SVCC's reported P/E ratio of 40.66 and market cap of $228.42 million, for example, reflect interest earned inside the trust — not real business profits.
Other Institutions Pile In Alongside Radcliffe
Radcliffe was not alone. Clear Street Group grew its SVCC position by a staggering 5,916%, adding 115,876 shares to reach 117,853 shares worth about $1.22 million, according to SEC filings. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System entered GSHR with a new stake worth roughly $4.11 million during the fourth quarter — a notable move given that public pension funds face extra scrutiny for holding speculative "blank check" vehicles.
Berkley W R Corp also picked up shares across several of the same tickers. The parallel buying from multiple institutional types — a credit-focused hedge fund, a prime broker, an insurance holding company, and a public pension — points to broad conviction that these SPACs are nearing key decision points before their merger deadlines.
Merger Clocks Are Ticking for CRAC, IGAC, and Peers
All five SPACs remain in pre-merger phases, meaning their sponsors must find and close a deal or return cash to investors. IGAC, led by Chairman Bradley Tusk and CEO Christian Goode, is targeting the leisure, gaming, and hospitality sectors. CRAC, run by CEO Richard G. Phillips, is focused on energy and infrastructure. Gesher II, led by Omri Cherni, is hunting deals in the Israeli tech and EMEA markets.
As institutional stakes grow larger, SPAC sponsors face mounting pressure to announce deals quickly. But there is a catch. If Radcliffe and its peers are pure arbitrageurs, they may redeem their shares for cash at merger time rather than hold into the new company. That pattern drained billions from post-merger SPACs during the 2020–2024 cycle, often leaving merged companies far short of the capital they planned on. The next few quarters will show whether this round ends differently.
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