New York – November 2, 2021 – Cooley advised SeatGeek, a mobile-centric technology platform transforming the live-event experience for fans, teams and venues, on its definitive business combination agreement with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) RedBall Acquisition Corp. Partners Stephane Levy, David Silverman and Rupa Briggs led the Cooley team advising SeatGeek.
The combined company will have an implied enterprise value of approximately $1.35 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, which includes a $100 million private investment in public equity (PIPE), and assuming no redemptions by public shareholders of RedBall, the current owners of SeatGeek will hold approximately 63.5% of the combined company and current RedBall shareholders will hold approximately 28.5%.
"Since we started SeatGeek, we've focused relentlessly on reinventing live event ticketing," Jack Groetzinger, CEO and co-founder of SeatGeek, said in a news release. "Our technology transforms the historically opaque and complicated process of purchasing tickets into a seamless, delightful experience that enriches events for fans, sellers and rightsholders. We've grown substantially in 2021, gaining in market share as the live entertainment industry recovers. That makes this a particularly exciting time to go public via this merger with RedBall. Their significant experience and relationships in sports, live entertainment and ticketing makes RedBall the ideal partner for SeatGeek."
The PIPE is led by early SeatGeek investor Accel, as well as additional investors Ryan Smith, the founder and executive chairman of Qualtrics and the owner of Smith Entertainment Group, which includes the Utah Jazz; Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's Thirty Five Ventures; and several others. Upon closing, the combined company will be named SeatGeek.
SeatGeek is on a mission to transform the live-event experience for fans, teams and venues. By combining a superior marketplace with unparalleled primary ticketing box office technology, the company has become a high-growth global ticketing leader. Its open-ecosystem enterprise ticketing software empowers teams, venues and promoters to efficiently grow their businesses while delivering a superior experience.