Oct 2 (Reuters) - Veteran dealmaker Michael Klein-led blank-check company Churchill Capital Corp V said on Monday it would cease operations nearly three years after it went public.

Klein, a prolific sponsor of special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), had launched several such vehicles during the pandemic-era boom. One of his SPACs took electric-vehicle company Lucid Group public in one of the biggest deals ever.

But heightened regulatory scrutiny and a poor market for new listings last year dimmed the appeal of SPACs. Many startups ended their deals to go public via a SPAC, and popular blank-check investors such as Chamath Palihapitiya also felt the pinch.

SPACs, which offer an alternative to a traditional IPO, have no business operations other than finding a private company to take public.

Churchill Capital, which had raised $500 million in its initial public offering in December 2020, said it would return the capital to shareholders. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)