NEW YORK, June 02, 2021 — The Topps Company, Inc. (“Topps” or “the Company”), a global leader in sports and entertainment collectibles and confections, announced today that total net sales for the first quarter ended April 3, 2021 increased 55% over the same period a year ago to approximately $166.6 million.
“We are very pleased with the strength exhibited by our business during the first quarter,” said Michael Brandstaedter, Chief Executive Officer of The Topps Company. “The strong momentum we experienced last year has continued in 2021, and we are excited about our growth opportunities over the near and long term.”
In addition, Major League Baseball (MLB) and Topps today reaffirmed that their licensing relationship, under which Topps offers a variety of MLB physical and digital products, is unchanged and will continue to include Topps Major League Baseball NFT (non-fungible token) trading card products.
“Topps is one of our oldest and most important MLB licensees and we look forward to continuing to work with them to bring new MLB-licensed trading card products in physical, digital and NFT forms to market,” said Noah Garden, Chief Revenue Officer of Major League Baseball. “We were very excited by Topps’ first MLB NFT launch — 2021 Topps Series 1 – and we look forward to additional successful launches in the future.”
On May 12, 2021, Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II (“MUDS”) (NASDAQ: MUDS), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, filed its preliminary proxy in connection with its proposed business combination with The Topps Company. Topps expects to report full first quarter 2021 results concurrent with the filing of the first amendment to the proxy by MUDS. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Topps and will be listed on NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol “TOPP.”
About The Topps Company
Founded in 1938, The Topps Company, Inc. is a global consumer products company that entertains and delights consumers through a diversified, engaging, multi-platform product portfolio that includes physical and digital collectibles, trading cards, trading card games, sticker and album collections, memorabilia, curated experiential events, gift cards and novelty confections. Topps Physical Sports & Entertainment products include Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, National Hockey League, Formula 1, Star Wars, WWE, Wacky Packages®, Garbage Pail Kids®, Mars Attacks® and more. Topps Digital Sports & Entertainment has connected with people around the world who have downloaded our apps including Topps® BUNT®, TOPPS® KICK®, Star Wars™: Card Trader by Topps®, Topps® WWE SLAM™, Topps® NHL SKATE™, Marvel Collect! by Topps® and Disney Collect! by Topps®.
Topps Digital Services is a leading processor, distributor and program manager of prepaid gift cards and provider of cloud-based financial services and white label e-gift solutions for widely recognized digital businesses that include Airbnb, Deliveroo, DoorDash, Hulu, Instacart, Netflix, Nike, Twitch and Uber. Topps Confections, Bazooka Candy Brands, produces, markets and distributes confections brands including Ring Pop®, Push Pop®, Baby Bottle Pop®, Juicy Drop®, Finders Keepers®, and Bazooka® bubble gum. For additional information visit topps.com, play.toppsapps.com, toppsdigitalservices.com, Candymania.com, investors.thetoppscompany.com.
About The Tornante Company
The Tornante Company, LLC is a privately held investment firm founded and owned by former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner. Tornante invests in, acquires, and operates media and entertainment companies. The company owns Topps and Portsmouth Football Club, of the English Football League, and has created critically acclaimed series such as Undone for Amazon Studios, BoJack Horseman and Tuca and Bertie for Netflix, and NOS4A2, an AMC Original Series.
About Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II
MUDS is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The company is led by Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jason Mudrick, Chief Financial Officer, Glenn Springer, Vice President, Victor Danh and Vice President, David Kirsch. Its sponsor is an affiliate of Mudrick Capital Management, L.P., which currently manages approximately $3.5 billion with a specialty in event-driven and special situation investing in public and private companies in North America. Additional information regarding MUDS may be found at: www.MudrickCapitalAcquisitionCorp.com.