Trading card maker Topps has announced a deal to become public through a Mudrick Capital combination. Sporting goods retailer Signa Sports United is also said to be in talks to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, while Singapore's Grab is reportedly near an agreement to go public via one of Altimeter Capital's SPACs.
TOPPS, MUDRICK CAPITAL COMBINATION: The Topps Company and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II (MUDS), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, announced a definitive agreement for a business combination that will result in Topps becoming a public company. Upon closing of the transaction, which is expected in late second or early third quarter, the combined company will be named Topps and remain listed on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol "TOPP."
IMPOSSIBLE CONSIDERING SPAC DEAL: Beyond Meat (BYND) rival Impossible Foods is preparing for a public listing which could value the U.S. plant-based burger maker at around $10B or more, report Reuters' Anirban Sen and Joshua Franklin, citing people familiar with the matter. Impossible Foods is exploring going public through an initial public offering in the next 12 months or a merger with a SPAC, said the sources. The company has worked with a financial adviser to help manage discussions with SPACs after receiving offers at a "lucrative valuation," added the sources. Going public through a SPAC could dilute existing Impossible Foods shareholders, however, by a greater extent than an IPO, said the people.
SIGNA SPORTS IN TALKS ABOUT COMING PUBLIC: Sporting goods retailer Signa Sports United is in talks to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, according to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter. Signa is working with several banks on a potential transaction that could value the company at up to $4B and is in preliminary talks with SPACs including Yucaipa Acquisition Corp (YAC), said the report.
SINGAPORE'S GRAB COULD BE CLOSE TO SPAC DEAL: Singapore's Grab could finalize an agreement to go public via one of Altimeter Capital's special purpose acquisition companies soon, reported the Financial Times, citing three people with direct knowledge of the situation. Altimeter has two SPACs - Altimeter Growth (AGC) and Altimeter Growth 2 (AGCB). The Wall Street Journal reported on March 11 that the Southeast Asian ride-hailing startup was discussing a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company affiliated with Altimeter Capital Management that would value it at between $35B and $40B. Grab will raise about $2.5B through a private investment in public equity, added the paper. Of that, close to $1.2B will be funded by Altimeter for a total valuation of close to $35B, sources told the FT. Altimeter will also backstop the sale of any shares in the SPAC by public shareholders when the deal is announced, said one of the people familiar with the discussions.
On Friday, Bloomberg said Grab could finalize an agreement to come public via a deal with Altimeter Growth Corp. that could value Grab at more than $34B. Such a deal could be announced next week, added Bloomberg's Manuel Baigorri, Joyce Koh, Yoolim Lee, and Elffie Chew.
ENJOY IN TALKS TO GO PUBLIC VIA SPAC: Enjoy Technology, which runs mobile retail stores and is led by ex-Apple (AAPL) executive Ron Johnson, is in talks to go public through a merger with Marquee Raine Acquisition Corp (MRAC) at a $1.6B valuation, reported Bloomberg's Gillian Tan and Mark Gurman, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
COVERAGE INITIATIONS:
Barrington analyst Christopher Howe initiated coverage of a special purpose acquisition company, New Beginnings Acquisition (NBA), with an Outperform rating and $15 price target. New Beginnings on March 8 announced that it identified an acquisition target in Airspan Networks, a "leading pioneer" in the mobile 5G software and systems space, Howe told investors. Over the next several years, 5G will be deployed across a wide variety of applications and Airspan is the only North American vendor with "proven" indoor and outdoor 5G systems plus wireless, microwave, DOCSIS and fiber backhaul options all under one management platform, said the analyst. Howe believes Airspan is well positioned to benefit from multiple government stimulus programs, such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth initiated coverage of Nebula Caravel Acquisition (NEBC) with a Buy rating. The company's merger with pet services provider A Place for Rover creates an opportunity for investors to participate in the secular growth of pet ownership and pet care, Feinseth tells investors. Rover is well positioned to benefit from the current offline to online pet services shift with a "significant growth runway," says the analyst. He believes "significant upside exists" in shares of Nebula Caravel and recommends purchase at current levels. On February 11, Rover and Caravel entered into a definitive business combination. Upon closing of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021, the combined company intends to trade on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol, “ROVR.”
Lake Street analyst Brooks O'Neil initiated coverage of Alpha Healthcare Acquisition (AHAC), which has executed a merger agreement with Humacyte, with a Buy rating and $20 price target. After the expected Q2 close, the combined company will be renamed Humacyte, trade under the new ticker symbol "HUMA" and be led by current Humacyte CEO Laura Niklason, noted O'Neil. Humacyte is developing "a revolutionary new platform" for growing engineered human tissues at scale and targeting markets including trauma, dialysis access, vascular disease, coronary artery disease, and diabetes that he believes are "collectively over $150 billion in size," O'Neil tells investors.
SPAC IPOs this week:
"On the Fly: The Week in SPAC News" is The Fly's new recurring series of stories on the latest SPAC initial public offerings, SPAC deal news, and associated analyst commentary.
Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II
+0.13 (+1.21%)
Topps
+
Beyond Meat
-4.45 (-3.30%)
Yucaipa Acquisition
+0.01 (+0.10%)
Altimeter Growth
-0.31 (-2.21%)
Altimeter Growth 2
-0.14 (-1.27%)
Apple
+2.63 (+2.02%)
Marquee Raine Acquisition
+0.02 (+0.20%)
New Beginnings Acquisition
+0.08 (+0.79%)
Nebula Caravel Acquisition
+0.02 (+0.20%)
Rover Group
+
Alpha Healthcare Acquisition
+0.41 (+3.81%)
TPG Pace Solutions
-0.01 (-0.10%)
Global SPAC Partners
+
Aldel Financial
+ (+0.00%)
Tio Tech A
+
Panacea Acquisition Corp. II
+0.005 (+0.05%)
CM Life Sciences III
+
Ace Global Business Acquisition
+