Jun 13, 2022 - Economy

Blue Nile will return to the public markets via SPAC

Dan Primack

Illustration of man in a suit holding an open engagement box with a stack of money in it — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Blue Nile, a Seattle-based online retail of diamonds and jewelry, agreed to go public at an implied $683 million enterprise valuation via a blank check company called Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp. II.

Why it matters: The SPAC market was poised to suffer its first week without a new merger since early January, before this announcement arrived at 5:40pm ET on Friday.

Details: The merger would include an $80m PIPE from the private equity firms that took Blue Nile private in 2017 for around $500m: Bain Capital, Bow Street and Adama Partners. It also includes $50 million of new preferred equity from the SPAC sponsor, Mudrick Capital.

The bottom line: Blue Nile is a dotcom-era retailer, and one of the few still alive, founded in 1999 to change how consumers bought diamond engagement rings. It first went public in 2004.

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Blue Nile will return to the public markets via SPAC

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