Vivid Seats is in advanced talks to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Bloomberg reports.
The digital ticketing marketplace plans to go public through a merger with Horizon Acquisition Corp., the blank-check firm run by Todd Boehly, the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise, according to anonymous sources quoted by Bloomberg.
According to people close to the matter, Horizon has kicked off discussions with investors about raising equity to support a transaction set to reduce Vivid Seats’ debt and value the combined company at about $2.5bn.
It was also revealed that Vivid Seats’ private equity backers GTCR and Vista Equity Partners will add their ownership stakes into the new entity.
The SPAC, which is sponsored by Eldridge Industries, an investment firm Boehly also founded, raised $544m in an August initial public offering (IPO).
Vivid Seats, which is led by chief executive Stan Chia and is based in Chicago, facilitates the buying and selling of sports, event and concert tickets. The company is presently looking to differentiate itself from rivals through a new rewards programme, which will offer nine per cent cash back on some transactions, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Vivid Seats will pay $7.5m in a proposed settlement deal after ticket buyers alleged it failed to issue full refunds for shows cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed class of purchasers claims the ticket reseller retroactively went back on its 100-per-cent guarantee after events were cancelled in the wake of the pandemic.
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