In this March 6, 2007 file photo, Topps baseball cards are seen in Boston. Sports trading card company Topps is combining with a special purposes acquisition company in a deal valued at $1.3 billion and seeking a public listing. Topps Co. said Tuesday, April 6, 2021, that it will join with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp., which will make a $250 million investment. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, file)
By Michelle Chapman
Sports trading card company Topps is combining with a special purposes acquisition company in a deal valued at $1.3 billion and seeking a public listing.
Topps Co. said Tuesday that it will join with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp., which will make a $250 million investment. Other investors include GAMCO Investors and Wells Capital Management.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner will continue as Topps chairman. His firm, The Tornante Co., which bought Topps in 2007, will roll all of its equity into the new public company, which will keep the name Topps.
The combined company will be led by Michael Brandstaedter, president and CEO of Topps.
The news follows a spate of similar SPAC deals, including WeWork less than two weeks ago.
Topps, which sells trading cards, stickers and albums and trading card games, has numerous sports partners, including Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, UEFA, Bundesliga, the National Hockey League and Formula 1. It also has deals with Disney and World Wresting Entertainment. The 80-year-old company had sales of $567 million last year.
The deal is expected to close late in the second or early in the third quarter, subject to approval from Mudrick shareholders. It will remain listed on the Nasdaq but will have the new ticker symbol, “TOPP."
Walmart's revenue increased last quarter because customers kept coming back again and again. Are most shoppers buying and avoid the same products as you are?
NBA champion Kendrick Perkins and Edly founder Chris Ricciardi discuss working together to create Nilly, a new platform where fans can invest in name, image, and likeness deals of their favorite college athletes.
Off the back of their latest earnings results, Hungryroot CEO Ben McKean discusses how the company is bringing healthy food straight to customers' doors and how it's using A.I.
Jack Ablin, Cresset Capital founding partner and CIO, breaks down the current market, from all eyes on Nvidia’s earnings to what sectors he’s seen deliver excellent returns.
Alberto Perlman, CEO of Zumba, shares what users can find on its new app, the demand for in-person fitness classes, and the secret to remaining a go-to exercise brand for decades.
