** Shares of blank check firm dMY Technology Group II
 DMYD.N  up 10% at $11 premarket on announced merger
    ** Special purpose acquisition co (SPAC) to take
London-based Genius Sports Group Ltd public through reverse
merger valued at ~$1.5 bln, including debt  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HI2EJ
    ** Genius Sports acquires data from sports events and
supplies it to sports betting operators; maintains partnerships
with over 500 sports organizations globally, including the NBA,
NCAA, FIBA, FIFA, English Premier League and NASCAR
    ** dMY II went public in Aug after raising $240 mln from its
IPO; in Jul, an earlier dMY SPAC bought Chicago-based online
gambling company Rush Street Interactive LP  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2EY0FM
    ** SPACs have been behind some of the most high-profile
public listings over the past year, including online betting
firm DraftKings Inc  DKNG.O  and billionaire investor Richard
Branson's space tourism firm Virgin Galactic  SPCE.K 

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper.tr.com@reuters.net
lance.tupper@tr.com))