Boom in 'blank check' companies is wearing out insurers Katherine Chiglinsky and Jenny Surane, Bloomberg Feb. 12, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Tilman Fertitta, the Houston billionaire who built a hospitality and entertainment empire from a single seafood restaurant in Katy, will take his Landry’s Inc. and Golden Nugget casino operations public by merging them with a special purpose acquisition company. The transaction values the businesses at $6.6 billion, including debt.Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The boom in “blank check” companies is overwhelming a key player in their creation companies: insurers. Firms selling directors-and-officers liability policies for these special purpose acquisition companies have been flooded by the listings that surged last year. That’s caused insurers to ratchet up their prices and seek ways to control their exposure to SPACs -- moves that are making it harder for blank-check firms to get started.