Another SPAC deal falls apart after Topps trading cards terminates merger with sponsor
- Mudrick Capital Acquisition and Topps Company have terminated their proposed merger.
- The cancellation of the proposed SPAC deal comes after the MLB said it would not renew its contract with Topps.
- The SPAC boom is beginning to deflate as deals fall apart and shares of merged companies plummet.
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Another SPAC deal has been canceled, with Mudrick Capital Acquisition and Topp Company terminating their proposed merger.
The mutual termination of the proposed merger comes after the Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association decided to not renew their respective agreements with Topps when they come up for renewal in 2025 and 2022, respectively.
The MLB instead agreed to a new contract with Fanatics, which recently raised $325 million from investors like Jay-Z at a valuation of $18 billion.
The decision to terminate the SPAC deal came just one week before shareholders were set to vote on the proposed merger.
Shares of Mudrick Capital traded down by about 2% in Friday trades, below its $10 per share SPAC price.
This isn't the only SPAC to have a bumpy road since it raised money from investors. Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Tontine Holdings SPAC canceled its proposed acquisition of a stake of Universal Music Group. Now Ackman is proposing to return the cash he raised from investors as he looks at different investment vehicles for completing deals.
And even for companies that managed to complete a SPAC merger, many have seen negative returns, with one falling as much as 90% from its $10 IPO price. The decline in post-merged SPACs comes after investors get their first earnings reports as a public company, which often show mounting losses and spotty growth.
2021 will remain a record year for SPACs regardless of how the next few months play out. Year-to-date, there have been 413 SPAC deals that have raised a total $121.7 billion.