Signa Sports United (SSU) and Yucaipa Acquisition Corp. (YAC) said they expected to complete their planned business combination on Dec. 14, following approval by YAC shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on Dec. 13.
The transaction was expected to generate gross proceeds of at least $484 million, coming mainly from institutional and high-tech investors, sovereign wealth funds and high net worth individuals. It will form the world’s largest e-commerce platform for sports and bike products, allowing among other things the acquisition of a big U.K.-based online bike retailer, Wiggle Chain Reaction Cycles (Wiggle CRC). It will also prepare the group’s planned introduction on the New York Stock Exchange.
SSU has indicated that the supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will adversely affect the group, leading to sales ranging between €1.40 billion and €1.55 billion on a pro-forma basis in the current financial year, compared with a previous projection of $1,621 million.
However, the company restated that “it is very confident demand remains strong, the strategic consolidation opportunities are huge and the mid and long-term mega-trends behind the business are accelerating. The Company expects to continue on its strong growth track once the COVID-19 related supply chain situation normalizes.”
SSU and YAC said that YAC shareholders who wanted to withdraw their request for redemption of their shares were allowed to do so at any time until the vote taken at the extraordinary general meeting. Signa International Sports Holding and Bridgepoint previously indicated that they were willing to provide up to $178 million in additional liquidity in case of elevated redemption rates.
