Ticket marketplace, SeatGeek, is longer going public via a US$1.35 billion merger with blank-check acquisition company, RedBall Acquisition Corp., after the pair mutually agreed to terminate the deal hours before shareholders were set to vote.

The deal, which was set to close by the end of Q1 2022, and was originally announced in October last year, was terminated due to unfavourable market conditions.

Commenting on the failed deal, SeatGeek CEO, Jack Groetzinger, said: “With such a choppy market it didn’t make sense for us to follow through with the SPAC.”

“We made this decision to ensure SeatGeek continues to be in an optimal position of strength to pursue our growth strategy.

“We have tremendous momentum going into the second half of this year and are exploring other options to help us deliver on our mission of helping people experience more live,” he said.

With public markets surging in the sports industry, multiple companies including DraftKings, Vivid Seats and Genius sports formed SPACs with RedBall, which led them to raising US$575 million in its August 2020 IPO.

However, the result of the terminated deal leaves the blank-check company with a dilemma, where they have until mid-August to complete a business combination or it will have to return $10 per share IPO funds back to shareholders.