Jewelry distributor Quality Gold to go public via nearly $1 bln SPAC deal

Priveterra Acquisition II

21/10/2022 12:35

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Quality Gold, a specialty logistics
and jewelry distributor, has agreed to go public in the United
States through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal
valuing the combined entity at $989 million, the companies said
on Friday. 
    The deal with Tastemaker Acquisition Corp  TMKR.O  includes
proceeds of $279 million from the special purpose acquisition
company's (SPAC) trust account, assuming no redemptions.
    The merger comes at a challenging time for the SPAC market
in the United States, as regulatory scrutiny tightens and rising
volatility spooks investors, triggering higher redemptions. 
    The De-SPAC Index  .DESPACTR , which tracks some of the
companies that took the alternate route to list, is down nearly
66% so far this year.
    SPACs are publicly listed companies that are raised with the
intention of merging with a private company, which goes public
through the merger.
    Quality Gold, founded in 1979, operates in the United
States, Canada and India serving more than 15,000 retailers.
    The combined company, Quality Gold Holdings Inc, is expected
to trade on the Nasdaq under the new ticker "QGLD" after the
deal closes.
 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com;))