WiggleCRC to be acquired by Signa Sports United

The WiggleCRC Group is set to be acquired by global sports e-commerce and technology platform Signa Sports United.

The platform has entered into a business combination agreement with Yucaipa Acquisition Corporation, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company led by chairman and president Ron Burkle and CFO and COO Ira Tochner.

“We’re proud and excited by this next chapter in SSU’s growth story,” said Stephan Zoll, CEO of Signa Sports United. “Becoming a listed company allows us to continue capturing market share in Europe and to accelerate our US and international expansion while scaling our platform solutions.

“We also look forward to welcoming WiggleCRC to our SSU family. The acquisition enhances our global online leadership, especially in the bike category. Our focus on growth and internationalisation coupled with our platform approach drives significant scale benefits.”

Burkle added: “SSU is a global leader in the fastest-growing sports categories and is well-positioned for continued success as a public company. With its technology platform – and a combination of scale, international growth and profitability – we expect SSU to grow its leadership positions and accelerate its global expansion. We look forward to becoming shareholders and partnering closely with the talented SSU team on this exciting journey.”

YAC has agreed to combine with Signa Sports United and the WiggleCRC Group based on a $3.2 billion pro forma enterprise valuation. The transaction is expected to deliver up to approximately $645 million of gross proceeds through the contribution of up to $345 million of cash held in YAC’s trust account (assuming no redemptions) and a concurrent fully committed ordinary share PIPE of approximately $300 million (upsized from an envisaged PIPE of $250 million).

Burkle is investing $50 million in the PIPE and is joined by top tier global institutional investors. The existing shareholders have agreed to convert 100% of their ownership stakes into the new public company. After giving effect to the transaction and assuming no redemptions by the YAC shareholders, the company is expected to have approximately $350 million of liquidity to support future growth, including strategic acquisitions, and general corporate purposes.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of each of YAC and SSU, and is subject to approval by YAC’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2021. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will trade on the NYSE under the Signa Sports United name.

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