SPACs have been known as a way to make private companies public through roundabout investments. This one is different.

Bull Horn Holdings is merging with biotech Coeptis TherapeuticsA public company was traded on the exchange. CNBC was told by the sponsors of SPAC that they chose to go public partly due to transparency and a track record of past performance, which counters some criticisms about blank-check transactions.

This deal is a great one because it has already had some time in minor leagues, and was ready to go forward. We’ve created a model that should be looked at by everybody,” Bull Horn CFO Chris Calise said in an interview.

The bell will ring quickly because there are so many sponsors. Calise indicated that they’re looking for any unique way to get a deal done. The original target of his SPAC was a company working in sports and entertainment.

The deal was a reminder of the dangers sponsors face when trying to reach a target in a time crunch. According to SPAC Research, there are almost 600 companies that have not yet launched looking for deals. Most of them were founded between 2020 and 2021. SPACs usually have a two year deadline for merging with companies. Investors would be refunded capital if the deal does not go through.

We are yet to see if any other sponsors will follow Bull Horn’s lead. Jay Ritter, a University of Florida finance professor who studies IPOs, says it is common for a stock to trade over-the counter to go public and be called an IPO.

Ritter pointed out that Coeptis currently trades at $2.72 per share on the OTC Market, which is below what the shares would be worth if converted to $175,000,000 shares in the new company at $10 (there are currently 38.99 million Coeptis shares outstanding).

Ritter indicated that the market was skeptical of the SPAC’s ability to finish the merger with no massive redemptions.

As rising interest rates posed a threat to growth-oriented businesses with low profits, the SPAC market turned sour this year. Several high-profile deals have failed, such as SeatGeek’s $1.3 billion deal with Billy Beane’s RedBall Acquisition Corp.Forbes’ deal of $630million with Jonathan Lin (ex-point72 executive) to form the SPAC Magnum Opus.