Analysis
Steven and Andrew Heyer filed an S-1 registration statement for Haymaker Acquisition Corp V on August 24, 2026, under CIK 0002111838 -- the fifth blank-check company the brothers have brought to market targeting consumer-focused businesses for a reverse merger. Steven Heyer's background includes serving as CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and COO of The Coca-Cola Company, while Andrew Heyer founded and runs Mistral Equity Partners, a private equity firm; together they've built a specific, repeatable track record in consumer and hospitality-adjacent SPAC deals.
The pair's prior vehicles give a clear read on what a Haymaker deal typically looks like: the original Haymaker Acquisition Corp merged with OneSpaWorld Holdings in 2019, Haymaker Acquisition II combined with fuel retailer and convenience-store operator ARKO Holdings in 2020, and Haymaker Acquisition III merged with hormone-optimization chain Biote in 2022. A fourth vehicle, Haymaker Acquisition IV, filed to raise $261 million in February 2022 but was withdrawn later that year, during the broader SPAC-market downturn that followed 2021's boom.
- Haymaker Acquisition Corp (I) -- merged with OneSpaWorld Holdings, 2019
- Haymaker Acquisition Corp II -- merged with ARKO Holdings, 2020
- Haymaker Acquisition Corp III -- merged with Biote, 2022
- Haymaker Acquisition Corp IV -- withdrawn in 2022 without completing a merger
- Haymaker Acquisition Corp V -- new S-1 filed August 24, 2026, the subject of this filing
The Heyers' record isn't without controversy: a Biote founder previously called the brothers 'serial SPAC sponsors hoping to extract a quick buck' in a legal filing tied to that 2022 merger, a criticism that reflects a broader skepticism repeat SPAC sponsors face over whether sponsor economics -- founder shares typically acquired for a nominal price -- are properly aligned with the interests of shareholders who buy in at the IPO or post-merger.
The counterweight is that three of the Heyers' four prior vehicles did complete mergers, a completion rate meaningfully better than the broader SPAC market managed during the post-2021 downturn, when a large share of blank-check companies either liquidated without finding a target or saw their post-merger stock trade well below IPO price. Whether Haymaker V follows that same three-of-five pattern, and at what valuation, won't be knowable until a specific merger target is named -- a blank-check S-1 registers capital and structure, not a deal.
