RedBall Acquisition Corp. (RBAC) Terminates SeatGeek Deal

RedBall Acquisition Corp. (NYSE:RBAC) announced this morning that it has mutually terminated its combination agreement with ticket marketplace SeatGeek.

Similar to a handful of other SPACs we’ve seen, RedBall cited unfavorable market conditions as the key reason behind the termination. But, the press release further specified that growth technology companies in particular have been facing difficulties in the public markets.

SeatGeek will continue to remain a private company, and RedBall will convene and adjourn the special meeting of its shareholders scheduled to be held today, June 1, 2022.  Today’s press release did not disclose RedBall’s plan to seek out an alternative business combination, but it has a transaction deadline quickly approaching on August 17, 2022.

The current market pain is still impacting SPACs and IPOs alike, making RedBall’s deal the 22nd to terminate this year and the second this morning following Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited’s (NYSE:OPA) termination of Forbes. The SPAC originally priced a $500 million IPO in August 2020. The RedBall team is headlined by Billy Beane – the former Oakland A’s general manager and executive who pioneered “Moneyball” techniques of leveraging performance analytics to generate the best ROI on player acquisitions.

RedBall initially announced its $1.35 billion combination with SeatGeek in October 2021. New York City-based SeatGeek provides an event ticket marketplace to enterprise clients, individual sellers and consumers that includes in-stadium purchase options and integrations with ride-hailing services.