Billy Beane’s RedBall SPAC Is in Merger Talks With SeatGeek

(Bloomberg) -- RedBall Acquisition Corp., a blank-check firm led by ‘Moneyball’ subject Billy Beane and RedBird Capital Partners’ Gerry Cardinale, said it is in talks to merge with SeatGeek, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.

There is no assurance that an agreement will be reached as a result of the exclusive discussions, RedBall said Friday in a statement. A deal, if agreed, could be announced as soon as next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Terms of the transaction couldn’t immediately be learned.

A representative for RedBall declined to comment and SeatGeek didn’t respond to requests for comment.

SeatGeek, led by Chief Executive Officer Jack Groetzinger is a platform for buying and selling tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live events. It partners with names including the Dallas Cowboys, Brooklyn Nets and Manchester City FC, according to its website. 

The RedBall SPAC last year held talks with the owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club, Fenway Sports Group, though those talks collapsed. New York-based SeatGeek was last valued at $571 million, according to PitchBook data, which lists investors including Glynn Capital, TCV, Eli and Peyton Manning and Carmelo Anthony’s Melo7 Tech Partners.

The SPAC raised $575 million in an August 2020 initial public offering. It said at the time it intended to pursue an acquisition in the sports, media and analytics sectors, with a focus on professional sports franchises.

Another ticketing company, Vivid Seats Inc., nabbed the ‘SEAT’ ticker this year after agreeing to go public through a merger with a SPAC led by Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly.

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