> Was Goldman underwriting the formation of new SPACs when those SPACs are initially collecting money?

SPACs are chock full of fees to Wall Street.

When the SPAC goes public, it pays an IPO fee. The bank, having to comply with fewer regulations than in a traditional IPO, makes a healthy profit. When the SPAC negotiates a merger it pays M&A fees. When shareholders are presented with the merger and asked to vote that comes with a fee. If there is a PIPE, there are, of course, more fees.

Later, when the sponsors sell their stock, there will be brokerage fees for the block trade. And I assume, in the final stage of a SPAC’s lifecycle, there will be de-listing, liquidation and/or distressed debt fees.