Fanatics Mutombo'd the public company aspirations of Topps and Panini
The Nightcap newsletter: SPAC Track’s nightly recap of the action in the SPAC world. (September 1, 2021)
Discover and track all of the SPACs at spactrack.net.
The Stats:
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The Deals:
No deals today.
News:
A-Rod’s SPAC End Panini Pursuit After NBA, NFL Losses (Bloomberg—paywalled)
Alex Rodriguez’s blank-check firm has ended merger talks with Panini SpA after the maker of sports cards, stickers and other collectibles lost exclusive licenses related to the National Basketball Association and National Football League, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Slam Corp. (SLAM: $9.64) had been conducting due diligence on a transaction set to value Panini at $3 billion or more, Bloomberg News reported in July. Those talks were ended recently, in part because of the new deals signed between several sports leagues and collectibles retailer Fanatics Inc., said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing the private negotiations.
A representative for Panini Group didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Slam spokesman declined to comment.
The development is the latest fallout from Fanatics’ sudden takeover of the sports-card market, after it reportedly signed contracts last month with Major League Baseball and the NBA, as well as unions representing professional football, baseball and basketball players. A pending deal between Topps Co., which had produced MLB cards for decades, and blank-check firm Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp. II (MUDS: $9.85) collapsed Aug. 20 as a result.
Panini, founded six decades ago in Modena, Italy, has been weighing a potential sale, Bloomberg News reported in February. The company, which surpassed $1 billion of annual sales in 2018, has sold stickers for every FIFA World Cup since the 1970 tournament in Mexico, and counts mixed martial arts organization UFC among its partners.
Fanatics to Topps and Panini:
Quick News Corner:
CM Life Sciences II Inc. (CMII: $10.63) completed its merger with SomaLogic
Ticker change to SLGC is set for tomorrow, 9/2
SomaLogic received ~$630M in proceeds
Supernova Partners Acquisition Company (SPNV: $8.80) completed its merger with Offerpad
Ticker change to OPAD is set for tomorrow, 9/2
Offerpad received ~$284M in proceeds
Chardan Healthcare Acquisition 2 Corp (CHAQ: $9.36) shareholders approve the merger with Renovacor
Closing is expected on 9/2 with ticker change to RCOR on 9/3
Renovacor will receive ~$95.1M in gross proceeds
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (GNPK: $10.03) shareholders approve the merger with Redwire
Closing is expected on 9/2 with ticker change to RDW on 9/3
Tracking De-SPAC S-1s:
Lucid Motors’ (LCID: $17.79 -10.87%) PIPE lock-up period ended today
Berkshire Grey (BGRY: $8.78 +2.33%) filed S-1/A
Hippo (HIPO: $5.15 -2.46%) filed 424B3
IPOs to Begin Trading Tomorrow:
1) Insight Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $240 Million Initial Public Offering (INAQ-U)
2) DTRT Health Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $200 Million Initial Public Offering (DTRT-U)
*Priced at the time of this writing
New S-1s:
None today.
Upcoming Dates:
This Week’s Announced Shareholder Meetings, Unit Splits, Warrant Redemptions
Fri, Sep 3
Merger Meeting: Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp (SOAC: $9.97) & DeepGreen Metals
Thanks for reading,