Baseball card maker Topps drops merger after MLB signs with Fanatics


MLB's departure from Topps won't happen immediately. The company's existing contract with the league runs through 2025. File Photo by Joe Marino/Bill Cantrell/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Topps, which has been synonymous with baseball trading cards since the 1950s, ended plans Friday to go public with a merger after Major League Baseball and its players' union signed a deal with rival Fanatics.

Topps in April announced a merger with Mudrick Capital to go public, but that deal was mutually called off Friday after MLB and the players union signed an exclusive licensing deal with Fanatics this week to produce baseball cards in the future.

Fanatics is an online sports merchandise retailer.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the NBA, its players' union and the NFLPA also will have stakes in the new company created by Fanatics.

Topps continues to have the rights to Formula One, Major League Soccer and other soccer leagues, the German Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League. Upper Deck has a licensing agreement with the NHL and its players' union.

MLB's departure from Topps won't happen immediately. The company's existing contract with the league runs through 2025.

Initially a chewing gun company, Topps produced its first series of baseball cards in gum packs in 1951. In January, a Topps baseball card featuring Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle sold for $5.2 million.

Social media platforms have boosted the appeal of trading cards, with their ability to speed up transactions and finding collectors.