Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I (RCLF) Terminates Gett Deal

Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I (NASDAQ:RCLF) announced this morning that it has mutually terminated its combination with ground transport management company Gett after a review of market conditions.

However, these “market conditions” also coincide with this deal possibly being the first SPAC casualty of the Russia-Ukraine war. As a part of the review, Gett decided to exit the Russian market, which was one of three markets where it had fully launched its B2B ground transportation outsourcing business model.

In the press release, Gett noted that the Russian market only represented 14% of the company’s direct gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2021. But, writing that off while simultaneously working to close a SPAC deal under terms that included that business line may have been too much for all sides to swallow. Gett still expects to reach profitability later this year and seek a public listing in 2023, although it is unclear if this might involve a SPAC once again.

Rosecliff still has until February 18, 2023 to complete a transaction itself, which is plenty of time. The SPAC initially listed in February 2021 with a mandate to seek out a well-managed technology target with the potential to generate sustainable free cash flow.