June 22 (Reuters) - Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Tastemaker Acquisition Corp said on Thursday its planned $989 million merger with jewelry distributor Quality Gold had been terminated due to challenging market conditions.

Market reception for SPACs has been frosty since late 2021 after some companies that went public via the SPAC route performed poorly on the stock market.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hikes last year added to the pressure, with multiple firms ending their planned SPAC mergers.

SPACs are publicly listed companies raised with the intention of merging with a private company, which goes public through the merger.

Tastemaker's deal with Quality Gold was announced in October last year. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)