Redbox is about to hit the public markets.
The DVD rental kiosk operator, which has been expanding into digital entertainment, announced that it completed its previously announced merger with Seaport Global Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.
The newly merged entity will be known as “Redbox Entertainment Inc.” Redbox’s common stock and warrants are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on Monday, Oct. 25, under the ticker symbols “RDBX and “RDBXW,” respectively.
The transaction will provide Redbox with about $88 million in cash. The company said it plans to use the funds to pay down existing debt, to fund future growth investments, and for general corporate purposes (including merger transaction costs and fees).
The final number of shares redeemed totaled 12,346,223. As a result, Redbox will have approximately 45.4 million shares outstanding, of which approximately 2.0 million will be immediately tradeable starting Monday. Apollo Global Management, which acquired Redbox through the acquisition of Outerwall in September 2016, will remain a significant shareholder.
“Today marks the beginning of Redbox’s next chapter,” Redbox chief exec Galen Smith said. “Today, we are building on our legacy and reaffirming our commitment to delivering a wide range of choice and convenience for consumers, as well as value for our Redbox stakeholders.”
Redbox operates a network of 40,000 kiosks across the U.S. Earlier this month, Redbox announced a multiyear distribution agreement with Lionsgate, under which Lionsgate will distribute Redbox Entertainment original titles across home entertainment windows in addition to subscription SVOD licensing for select movies. Redbox also recently signed a promotional agreement with Roku to push users to sign up for the Redbox streaming app; through mid-2022, consumers will receive a $5 streaming code on Roku players sold exclusively at Walmart.
The Redbox-Seaport SPAC deal was unanimously approved by their respective boards of directors, and it got the thumbs-up from Seaport Global Acquisition’s stockholders at a special meeting Wednesday.
B. Riley Securities acted as capital markets adviser to Seaport and lead placement agent on the private investment in public equity (PIPE) funding. BTIG acted as lead financial adviser and capital markets adviser to Redbox. Moelis & Co. also served as a financial advisor to Redbox, while Apollo Global Securities and BTIG also served as placement agents on the PIPE. Wedbush Securities and Canaccord Genuity acted as capital market advisers.
