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Branson-backed SPAC to take DNA-testing firm 23andMe public in $3.5 billion deal

February 04, 2021 at 08:16 am EST

(Reuters) - A blank-check firm, backed by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, is taking consumer DNA-testing firm 23andMe public in a deal that values the merged entity at $3.5 billion, both companies said on Thursday.

As part of the deal with VG Acquisition Corp, 23andMe will receive proceeds of $759 million, which includes $250 million from a range of investors including Branson, 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki, funds managed by Fidelity Management & Research Co LLC, Altimeter Capital, Casdin Capital and Foresite Capital.

Billionaire Branson, a serial entrepreneur whose space tourism company Virgin Galactic went public through a deal with prolific blank-check investor Chamath Palihapitiya's special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2019, is the latest celebrity to join the blank-check dealmaking frenzy.

The merged entity will trade under the symbol "ME" on the New York Stock Exchange.

Citigroup is serving as lead financial adviser, capital markets adviser and placement agent to 23andMe.

(Reporting by Anirban Sen in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Stocks mentioned in the article

Add to a list Add to a list 0 selected To use this feature you must be a member Log in Sign up	Price	Change	5d. change	Capi.
CITIGROUP INC.	62.47 USD	-0.32%	+7.39%	119B
GSK PLC	1,636 GBX	-0.91%	+2.89%	83.1B
VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS, INC.	0.8699 USD	-5.47%	-7.72%	358M
23ANDME HOLDING CO.	0.4671 USD	-5.39%	+31.13%	226M

Richard Branson

Telephony, music, finances, trains, airplanes or space exploration, the Virgin boss dares everything. A real bulimia which finds its roots in the aversion he has for the monopolies.

At sixteen, Branson creates the newspaper Students with the help of his friend Jonathan Holland Gems. Thanks to them, this newspaper becomes the mouthpiece for a generation of hippies opposed to the Vietnam War and engaged in the struggle for abortion rights.

At twenty, Richard Branson sold records by mail. Three years later he produced "Tubullar Bells" by Mike Oldfield which will be selected for the soundtrack of the movie The Exorcist. This enormous success attracts the best artists of the moment at Virgin Records as the Sex Pistols, Culture Club or Phil Collins.

Unformatted by business schools, the British businessman uses his intuition to engage in business more and more daring. Virgin Airways, Virgin Mobile to mention only the most important, show that there are no forbidden areas for the businessman the most admired of his generation. Icon in intuitive management, Richard Branson does not forget to be surrounded by the best persons in finance world as Gordon McCallum, a reference in the business world or Stephen Murphy, his Chief Financial officer and former of Unilever.

Some adventures such as cosmetics, clothing or vodka are failures but not for the businessman. When any other contractors consider these adventures as a failure, Richard Branson believes that these under achievements humanize the company and accentuate the friendly image of the boss.

Very sensitive to environmental issues, Richard Branson is hired to fight against global warming. In 2007 he gave twenty-five million dollars to reward initiatives that will be able to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But his most ambitious project is the conquest of space. For this, he signed a contract of fifteen million pounds with an American company for the manufacture of spacecraft and partnered with Philippe Starck for VirginGalactic. The first Virgin flight in space was planned for 2009.
In fact, like Google, Richard Branson has endorsed the principle of "don’t be a evil" (do not hurt) fighting to humanely manage a business became enormous.

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Virgin Radio Ltd. Virgin Radio Ltd. Specialty TelecommunicationsCommunications Virgin Radio Ltd. operates as a radio station. It operates as pop and rock radio station, which provides live online latest news and music. The firm also engages in the sale of advertising time and the related operations for radio stations. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in London, UK	Founder
Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. AirlinesTransportation Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. engages in the provision of air transportation services. It operates long haul services to various destinations including Las Vegas, Sydney, Tokyo, Delhi, Miami, and Shanghai. The company was founded by Richard Charles Nicholas Branson in 1984 and is headquartered in Crawley, the United Kingdom.	Founder

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