Take Me Out To The…SPAC NFT Ballpark?
When digital artist Mike Winkelmann, AKA Beeple, sold a non-fungible token (NFT) for $69 million last month, this previously under-the-radar digital asset suddenly became, if not quite a household term, at least an on-the-radar industry.
Collectors are shelling out millions of dollars to have their own, unique, can’t-be-copied (because of a blockchain) NFT for everything from art to sports to the most recent Kings of Leon album.
Though the early buzz with NFTs surrounded digital art, it didn’t take long for other NFTs to pop up. Nonfungible.com, which tracks NFTs in real time, includes CryptoKitties as among the top producers. That’s right, you can buy your own, one-of-a-kind digital cat. You can even breed it with other digital cats.
Sports cards were a natural addition to the NFT market. NBA Top Shot offers basketball enthusiasts the opportunity to catch the craze, and fans are on board. NBA Top Shot reports over $400 million in sales since its inception. Sorare entered the fray with soccer cards, and nonfungible.com reports their all-time volume at over $42,000,000.
Now comes the news today that trading card company Topps is going public through a SPAC acquisition by Mudrick Capital Acquisition II (MUDS). Mudrick, like most SPACs also has warrants. Once they become exercisable, one warrant plus $11.50 will get you one share of common.
The deal is valued at $1.3 billion Topps is already in the NFT market, in addition to its well-known tangible baseball trading cards. Let’s face it, Topps made those tangible cards the hot commodity they are today. So, it’s likely they are well positioned to translate that to the digital format.
Here’s what makes this merger so intriguing. Guess who is TOPPS chairman? Michael Eisner. Yes, that Michael Eisner, who previously was at the helm of Walt Disney.
So we can assume he knows a little something about running an entertainment industry. CNBC reports that Topps sales increased 23 percent in 2020. Talk about hitting it out of the park.
Eisner plans to stay on as Topps chairman, so it will be interesting to see how he expands the company’s role in the NFT marketplace. Meanwhile, to learn more about NFTs, check out CNBC’s tutorial here.