Mudrick II (NASDAQ:MUDS) announced this morning that it has terminated its combination with online jewelry retailer Blue Nile.
The termination comes just weeks after the $683 million deal announcement, which was originally announced on June 13, and Blue Nile will now be subject to pay a hefty termination fee of up to $10 million, equal to Mudrick II’s expenses. While most SPACs have cited unfavorable market conditions as their reason for termination, Blue Nile has decided to part ways in order to enter into a different transaction agreement where it will be acquired by Sterling Jewelers Inc. (“Signet”)(NYSE:SIG).
Signet announced this morning that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Blue Nile for $360 million in an all cash transaction, just over half of what Blue Nile’s enterprise value, or $683 million, would have been in the SPAC deal. The cash to Blue Nile’s balance sheet in the SPAC transaction was expected to be $372 million, but that was assuming no redemptions, and had a minimum cash closing condition of $195.5M. The acquisition of the online jewelry retailer is expected to accelerate Signet’s efforts to expand its bridal offerings and grow its luxury portfolio while extending its digital leadership for jewelry.
The new transaction will be funded with cash on hand from Signet and is currently expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, but will likely not be accretive until Q4 of 2024. Upon closing, Blue Nile will be strategically positioned at the top tier of Signet’s Accessible Luxury banners along with Jared, James Allen and Diamonds Direct.
As for Mudrick II, this marks the SPAC’s second termination and has a deadline of September 10 on the horizon. The SPAC terminated its first combination with collectible card-maker Topps in August 2021 after the company announced it would not see a renewal of its foundational contract with Major League Baseball (MLB) for producing its signature cards. But, MUDS has a preliminary proxy on file to extend its transaction timeline to December 10, 2022, hoping the third deal announcement is the charm.
Bellevue, Washington-based Blue Nile is a digitally native jewelry store operating both via an online marketplace and through brick-and-mortar showrooms in the United States. Blue Nile delivered revenue of more than $500 million in calendar year 2021.
CSLM Digital Asset (NASDAQ:KOYNU) has filed for a $200 million IPO to hunt for a crypto transaction with a team that includes veterans from a variety of other SPAC efforts. The new SPAC sports 1/2 warrants in units and will have 24 months to initially close a business combination. It becomes the 16th SPAC that...
At the SPAC of Dawn The past year has seen a string of serial sponsor teams return to market, with some already listing multiple vehicles in a full return to the hunt. One prolific SPAC leader that has been conspicuously absent from this return so far has been Chamath Palihapitiya, who has been a part...
BM Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:BMOKU) has filed for a $60 million IPO to bring another first-time, Asia-based team to the market. The new SPAC is serving up 1/2 warrants in each of its units and the team will have 18 months under its initial search window to close a deal. It may extend this, but only...
At the SPAC of Dawn The Fed’s rate decision day has finally come and futures are slightly green in anticipation. De-SPACs have largely opted not to hedge their bets on the event with several making large-scale equity capital raises directly on its eve. Four companies alone raised over $1 billion in secondary offerings this week,...
Pioneer Acquisition I Corp. (NASDAQ:PACHU) announced the pricing of its $220 million IPO and its units are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “PACHU”, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The new SPAC aims to combine with a target company in the healthcare sector, which could include medical device manufacturers, digital healthcare firms...