Trading-card company Topps’ merger deal with Mudrick Capital Acquisition II has struck out.
The SPAC filed an 8-K this morning announcing termination of the $1.3 billion deal following reports that Topps’ rival, Fanatics, was just awarded exclusive licensing agreements with unions representing players in Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League.
The new deals end Topps’ dominance in the baseball-card market since the 1950s.
The changeup also amounts to a screwball pitch against Topps, now that its proposed merger is dead.
Mudrick Capital Acquisition II shareholders were set to vote next week on the proposed merger with Topps. Terms of the $571 million cash transaction included $250 million held in trust by the SPAC.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who bought Topps in 2007, was to remain chairman. The 80-year-old company had sales of $567 million in 2020.
Mudrick decided to terminate the deal after notification yesterday from Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association that they would not be renewing their respective agreements with The Topps Company when they come up for renewal at the end of 2025 and 2022, respectively. Read more.
