SeatGeek, a mobile tech platform selling tickets for live sporting events, said Wednesday it is going public by merging with special purpose acquisition corporation RedBall Acquisition Corp. in a deal with an implied enterprise value of about $1.35 billion. The company will receive proceeds of $675 million, which includes a fully committed private investment in public equity, or PIPE, of $100 million, and $575 million held in the trust account of RedBall. Proceeds are earmarked for growth by expanding partnerships into new markets, scaling marketing, for M&A and for technology innovation. RedBall is a unit of RedBird Capital Partners, an investment firm with more than $5 billion in assets under management, and investments in sports, media, and ticketing including the YES Network, On Location Experiences, Skydance, Wasserman, OneTeam Partners, Fenway Sports Group, the XFL, Toulouse FC, and the IPL’s Rajasthan Royals. Once the deal closes, the combined company will be renamed SeatGeek. SeatGeek was created in 2009 and targets the $126 billion global live entertainment business. Jack Groetzinger will remain as CEO of the new company along with the current executive team.
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