They just don’t stop coming. Another private healthcare company has agreed to go public via SPAC in a $1.23 billion deal. SomaLogic is merging with CM Life Sciences II (NASDAQ: CMIIU), a special purpose acquisition company affiliated with Casdin Capital, LLC and Corvex Management LP.
SomaLogic is a commercial-stage proteomics company with over 300 established industry partnerships and customers. The company’s pioneering technology platform, SomaScan Assay, measures 7,000 human proteins in a single sample, enabling the possibility of faster, more precise drug discovery for researchers. Artificial intelligence and machine learning-powered bioinformatics algorithms operating in tandem with the company’s database of over 450,000 samples create SomaSignal Tests, industry-leading clinical proteomic diagnostic applications, which provide additional insights to a wide customer base.
The deal is expected to provide up to $651 million in cash proceeds for SomaLogic, expanding the cash on its balance sheet to $686 million. Financing includes a fully committed PIPE of $375 million from life science investors such as Casdin Capital, Corvex Management, Janus Henderson Investors, SB Management, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp, T.Rowe Price Associates, Inc., separate accounts advised by ARK Invest, Farallon Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Illumina and Novartis Pharma AG.
Based on what we can see in our Healthcare Deals Database, targets focusing on proteomics seems to be more niche, at least for buyers in the healthcare M&A market. In July 2019, Arsenal Capital Partners bought and merged Caprion Biosciences Inc. and HistoGeneX to create a business offering a full suite of immune monitoring and biomarker development services, including proteomics services to the biopharmaceutical industry.
After the SomaLogic reverse merger is completed, CMIIU shareholders are expected to own 14% of the combined company, with SomaLogic shareholders carrying the rest. SomaLogic will take over CMIIU’s Nasdaq listing and trade under the symbol SLGC.
