Jan 18 (Reuters) - Biotech ProKidney LP will merge with a
blank-check firm backed by veteran dealmaker Chamath
Palihapitiya to go public in a deal valuing the combined entity
at $2.64 billion, the companies said on Tuesday.
The merger with Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp III
will hand ProKidney up to $825 million in gross
proceeds to advance the development of its treatment for chronic
kidney diseases.
The proceeds include the $250 million the blank-check firm
raised through an initial public offering (IPO) in July and a
$575 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE.
Investors in the PIPE include Palihapitiya's Social Capital,
Suvretta Capital's healthcare-focused fund Averill and
ProKidney's existing shareholders.
ProKidney says its technology has the potential to treat
chronic kidney diseases by using the patient's own cells to
restore organ function.
Often hailed as a "SPAC King", Palihapitiya has sponsored
some of the most high-profile blank-check deals including those
for fintech SoFi Technologies Inc and home-selling
platform Opendoor Technologies Inc.
He has said he remains bullish https://www.reuters.com/business/palihapitiya-says-spac-slowdown-separated-wheat-chaff-2021-09-30
on the long-term prospects of the sector despite a slowdown in
blank-check merger activity in the latter half of 2021.
Blank-check firms, or special purpose acquisition companies
(SPACs), are publicly-traded investment vehicles that merge with
a private company to take it public, thereby allowing it to
sidestep a traditional IPO.
The ProKidney deal is expected to close in the third quarter
of this year, after which the combined company will be listed on
the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "PROK".
(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sohini Podder in Bengaluru;
Editing by Aditya Soni)