Topps, which is finest recognized for its baseball playing cards and Bazooka sweet line, has agreed to go public by a merger with Mudrick Capital A
Topps, which is finest recognized for its baseball playing cards and Bazooka sweet line, has agreed to go public by a merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Company II, a particular function acquisition firm, that values Topps at $1.three billion.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner will keep on as Topps’ chairman. Mudrick Capital and funds and accounts managed by Gamco Buyers and Wells Capital Administration are anticipated to speculate an extra $250 million within the SPAC. Non-public fairness agency Madison Dearborn Companions intends to promote most of its possession in Topps, however Eisner’s agency The Tornante Firm will roll its whole fairness stake into the brand new mixed firm.
The deal is predicted to shut within the late second or early third quarter. The mixed firm will likely be referred to as Topps and can commerce on the Nasdaq beneath the ticker TOPP. The New York Occasions’ Dealbook was the primary to report the deal.
Eisner stated on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” on Tuesday that Topps opted to go public by a SPAC due to the flexibleness and restricted distraction to administration.
Topps buying and selling playing cards are organized for {a photograph} in Richmond, Virginia.
Jay Paul | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Topps’ internet gross sales rose 23% in 2020 to $567 million, a report excessive for the corporate. Whereas Topps is finest recognized for its sports activities buying and selling playing cards, it has branched out into interactive cellular apps to attach collectors and not too long ago expanded into nonfungible tokens. Possession of an NFT is recorded on a blockchain, much like the networks that underpin cryptocurrencies. Every NFT is exclusive and cannot be duplicated, identical to proudly owning an unique portray or a uncommon baseball card.
“That is the icing on the cake, going digital fully, with the analog nonetheless in place,” Eisner stated.
Different corporations, together with Taco Bell and Atari, have additionally jumped on the NFT bandwagon. Funko, which makes collectible vinyl collectible figurines, not too long ago purchased an NFT start-up to assist it navigate the brand new pattern. However Eisner stated that the deal was struck earlier than the current explosion in NFTs, which has additionally included large sports activities moments. In late February, Dapper Labs stated shoppers had already spent greater than $230 million shopping for and buying and selling highlights from the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation.
Topps additionally has a present playing cards enterprise beneath the title Topps Digital Providers, the place it really works with corporations like Netflix, Airbnb and Nike. Its sweet section consists of iconic manufacturers like Bazooka, Ring Pop and Child Bottle Pop and accounts for 35% of gross sales.