Jewelry distributor Quality Gold to go public via nearly $1 bn SPAC deal

Quality Gold, a specialty logistics and jewelry distributor, has agreed to go public in the United States through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal valuing the combined entity at $989 million, the companies said on Friday.

The deal with Tastemaker Acquisition Corp includes proceeds of $279 million from the special purpose acquisition company's (SPAC) trust account, assuming no redemptions.

The merger comes at a challenging time for the SPAC market in the United States, as regulatory scrutiny tightens and rising volatility spooks investors, triggering higher redemptions.

The De-SPAC Index, which tracks some of the companies that took the alternate route to list, is down nearly 66% so far this year.

SPACs are publicly listed companies that are raised with the intention of merging with a private company, which goes public through the merger.

Quality Gold, founded in 1979, operates in the United States, Canada and India serving more than 15,000 retailers.

The combined company, Quality Gold Holdings Inc, is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the new ticker "QGLD" after the deal closes.

 

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)