ST. LOUIS — Post Holdings earlier this month said it is pulling the plug on Post Holdings Partnering Corp. (PHPC), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up in 2021 with the intention of raising $300 million to partner with a business in the consumer products space. SPACS are corporations designed to take companies public without going through the traditional initial public offering process.

In a May 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, PHPC said it “will redeem all of its outstanding shares of Series A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, previously sold in its initial public offering effective as of May 30, 2023, because the company will not consummate a partnering transaction within the time period required by its amended and restated certificate of incorporation.”

Robert V. Vitale, president and chief executive officer of Post Holdings and chief investment officer of PHPC, also commented on the demise of PHPC during a May 5 conference call to discuss Post’s second-quarter financial results.

“As I’ve said before, we believe a corporate-owned SPAC to be a good tool, but the timing was terrible,” Mr. Vitale said. “SPAC investors will receive their initial investment plus a modest return. We will continue to seek creative ways to extend our capital deployment capabilities despite this particular structure not succeeding.”

SPACs reemerged in 2020 as a popular investment tool to raise capital, and it has been utilized by several food companies. Collier Creek Holdings combined with Utz Quality Foods, LLC to form Utz Brands, Inc. Meanwhile, Stryve Foods LLC merged with the SPAC Andina Acquisition Corp. III to form Stryve Foods, Inc.

Despite Post’s inability to find an investment opportunity for PHPC by the May 28 deadline, Mr. Vitale noted during the earnings call that the company remains open to potential merger and acquisition targets.