Kevin O'Leary Shares SPAC Picks, Impressions

Entrepreneur and "Shark Tank" judge Kevin O’Leary shared his takeaways on special purpose acquisition companies Tuesday on CNBC’s "Halftime Report." 

Investing in Leadership: O’Leary said it’s smart to invest in operators with a "long track record of success," name-checking Bill Ackman, Michael Klein, Todd Boehly and Alec Gores.

“Do I want to bet with Bill? Sure I’ll give him some dough,” O’Leary said of Ackman. 

When speaking about Boehly, O’Leary said: "the guy’s track record is spectacular."

“I want to give these guys money to put to work for me.”

Ackman is behind Pershing Square Tontine (NYSE: PSTH), which raised $4 billion pricing units at $20 each. The stock closed Wednesday's session at $22.69 and has traded between $21.50 and $23.44 since going public.

Klein is one of the top names in the SPACs sector and recently launched his fifth. His Churchill Capital Corp III (NYSE: CCXX) is set to merge with medical payments company MultiPlan.

Klein's also behind Churchill Capital Corp II (NYSE: CCX), Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE: CCIV) and Churchill Capital Corp V (NYSE: CCV).

Churchill Capital Corp. merged with Clarivate Analytics (NYSE: CCC) in 2019.

Gores is behind several SPACs, with Gores Holdings III (NASDAQ: GRSH) and Gores Holdings V (NASDAQ:GRSV) seeking acquisition targets.

Gores Metropoulos (NASDAQ: GMHI) is set to merge with Luminar. Gores Holdings IV (NASDAQ: GHIV) is seeking a merger with United Wholesale Mortgage.

Gores Holdings I merged with Hostess Brands (NASDAQ: TWNK).

Boehly is behind the Horizon Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: HZAC) SPAC.

O'Leary On SPACs: O’Leary highlighted the opportunity to vote against an SPAC deal, and said they're a hedge against a market downturn.

“If I don’t like his deal, I can vote it down and get my cash back,” he said. “I find that very attractive.”

SPACs are not for everyone, and the S1s are long and complicated, the "Shark Tank" judge said.

“There’s a lot of really bad product out there.”

O’Leary’s Picks: CNBC showed three picks from O’Leary in the SPAC sector: Pershing Square Tontine, GS Acquisition Holdings II (NYSE: GSAH) and Tailwind Acquisition (NYSE: TWND).

Benzinga file photo by Dustin Blitchok.