TPG Growth’s travel nurse platform explores sale, Gores’ Mark Stone on the SPAC frenzy

It’s hump day, everybody.

In case you haven’t noticed, the flurry of SPAC issuances and business combinations hasn’t slowed in the first weeks of the year. SPACs this month alone raised nearly $20 billion across 67 blank check companies – a tally and value surpassing all of 2019.

On the heels of the largest SPAC deal in history, The Gores Group’s Mark Stone told PE Hub he expects a bifurcation of winners and losers to emerge in the market.

There’s bound to be disappointments amid the proliferation of the vehicle, the senior managing director said when asked about the historically poor returns delivered by SPACs: “The number of SPACs are larger than number of companies that deserve to go public.”
Completed just a few days ago, Gores took United Wholesale Mortgage public on the NYSE at a $16 billion value.

Many SPACs in the latest wave have combined with upstarts that can’t go public through a traditional IPO route, making UWM, an established nonbank mortgage underwriter for brokers, one of the outliers.

Read more insights from Stone on PE Hub.

When hospital utilization is booming: As seen through the covid period, that equates to a boost in demand for temporary nurse staffing.

As such, TPG Growth is exploring the sale of one growing business in the sector, Medical Solutions. In a transaction completed in June 2017, the growth capital arm of TPG acquired Medical Solutions at an approximately $500 million value, according to previous media reports.

Under TPG Growth, which bought a majority stake from Beecken Petty O’Keefe, a transformative M&A playbook has helped fuel growth in the business. Omaha, Nebraska-based Medical Solutions’ compound annual growth rate was 20 percent over the past five years, an August announcement said.

For adviser and financial info and more, check out PE Hub’s story.

That’s it for today! As always, write to me at springle@buyoutsinsider.com with any tips, feedbacks, comments or just to say hello.

Note to Readers: It’s that time of year … for the 21st time, the editors of PE Hub and Buyouts honor exceptional buyouts with our Deal of the Year Awards.

Winners are chosen in seven categories: Deal of the Year, Large-Market Deal of the Year, Middle-Market Deal of the Year, Small-Market Deal of the Year, Turnaround of the Year, International Deal of the Year, and Secondaries Deal of the Year.

Go here for more information and to read about rules and methodology. Also check out past winners. Last year, New Mountain took the crown with its exit of Equian.

If you have additional questions, email Private Equity Editor Chris Witkowsky at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com.