Topps to go public through merger with Mudrick Capital, with Michael Eisner remaining chairman after closing

The Topps Company announced Tuesday that it will be going public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp. II in a deal that values the combined company at $1.3 billion. The deal is expected to generate proceeds of up to $571 million of cash. Topps, the more than 80-year old sports collectibles, trading cards and novelty confections company, which was purchased by Michael Eisner's The Tonante Co. in 2007, said Eisner, the long-time former chief executive of Walt Disney Co. , will remain chairman. Eisner said he was "not selling a single share of Topps" in the deal. After the deal's closing, which is expected to occur late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2021, the company will be named Topps and the stock will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "TOPP." Shares of Mudrick Capital, which started trading on Jan. 29, rallied 7.1% in premarket trading, while the Renaissance IPO ETF tacked on 0.5% and futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%.

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