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Topps, which is greatest identified for its baseball playing cards and Bazooka sweet line, has agreed to go public by way of a merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Company II, a particular function acquisition firm, that values Topps at $1.3 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. Personal 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 shall be known 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 way of 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 Photographs
Topps’ internet gross sales rose 23% in 2020 to $567 million, a file excessive for the corporate. Whereas Topps is greatest identified for its sports activities buying and selling playing cards, it has branched out into interactive cell apps to attach collectors and just lately expanded into nonfungible tokens. Possession of an NFT is recorded on a blockchain, just like the networks that underpin cryptocurrencies. Every NFT is exclusive and cannot be duplicated, similar to proudly owning an authentic portray or a uncommon baseball card.
“That is the icing on the cake, going digital utterly, with the analog nonetheless in place,” Eisner stated.
Different firms, together with Taco Bell and Atari, have additionally jumped on the NFT bandwagon. Funko, which makes collectible vinyl collectible figurines, just lately purchased an NFT start-up to assist it navigate the brand new pattern. However Eisner stated that the deal was struck earlier than the latest explosion in NFTs, which has additionally included huge 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 identify Topps Digital Companies, the place it really works with firms like Netflix, Airbnb and Nike. Its sweet phase contains iconic manufacturers like Bazooka, Ring Pop and Child Bottle Pop and accounts for 35% of gross sales.
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