SeatGeek, Forbes nix deals as SPACs crack

Magnum Opus Acquisition

01/06/2022 19:45

** Event ticketing firm SeatGeek and business magazine
Forbes on Weds terminate mergers as SPAC market crumbles with
regulatory scrutiny intensifying  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2XO2KE
    ** SeatGeek canceled its $1.35 bln SPAC deal with Redball
Acquisition Corp  RBAC.N , which counts baseball exec Billy
Beane among its backers, citing "volatility in the public
markets
    ** Forbes ended its merger agreement with Magnum Opus
Acquisition Ltd  OPA.N , SPAC led by former Point72 exec
Jonathan Lin
    ** SPAC boom has cracked this year amid challenging market
conditions and collapse of some high-profile listings, such as
Grab and media co BuzzFeed, which along with many other cos saw
high shareholder redemptions prior to their tie-ups  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SS2C3
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2VV17O  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2TR27V
    ** SPACs also in political crosshairs this week after
Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said she plans bill to
crack down on the industry after a "proliferation" of bad deals
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2XH39H
    ** Meanwhile, shareholders of SoftBank's  9984.T  SPAC SVF
Investment Corp 3  SVFC.O  due to vote on Fri, June 3, on
planned $5.5 bln deal with Walmart Inc-backed  WMT.N  Symbotic,
supply-chain focused robotics and AI startup  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn83V4wda
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SY2MS

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-332-219-1430))