An initial public offering (IPO) of a company that has been established for the sole purpose of raising funds and merging with or acquiring an operating company. In other words, this offering is not based on a specific business plan other than to engage in a merger or acquisition with an unidentified company or companies. The resulting company, known as a blank check, is allowed to issue penny stock for this purpose, but is subject to stringent regulations. These regulations were originally meant to curb the use of blank checks as a vehicle for “pump and dump schemes” of the 1980s. However, this made blank checks unpleasant for most legal capital raising activity.