Another big SPAC on the boards. Telemedicine/symptom checking app Babylon Health has closed a deal to go public via a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) via Nashville-based Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp. The deal with Alkuri, run by two former Groupon Inc. execs, was reported of 28 May and was imminent, according to the usual “people familiar with the matter” speaking with Bloomberg News (may be paywalled).
If the Babylon-Alkuri SPAC comes to pass (it did–see below), the company valuation was reported to top $3.5 billion. Alkuri also is lining up investors for $270 million of private investment in public equity (PIPE) funding, the sources said. Alkuri is led by Groupon’s ex-CEO Rich Williams and former COO Steve Krenzer, The money connection is likely Sultan Almaadeed, a former executive at the Qatar Investment Authority, who is Alkuri’s chairman.
This isn’t the first time Babylon has talked SPAC. Back in April, Babylon almost went into a SPAC backed by financier Alec Gore. Other SPACs in prior talks with Babylon were Freedom Acquisition I Corp., backed by former Credit Suisse Group AG CEO Tidjane Thiam, as well as a vehicle from Klaus Kleinfeld, the former head of Arconic. Yahoo!Finance,
Babylon’s last big raise was a $550 million Series C in 2019, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund with prior investors Kinnevik AB and Munich Re AB. Their total funding since 2015 is $631.1 million. Crunchbase.
Updated. And so it came to pass that on Thursday 3 June, two days after our article published (and while this Editor was on assignment), it was formally announced. Reuters reported that Babylon’s pro-forma equity valuation is up to $4.2 billion. Babylon will enjoy $575 million in gross proceeds. This includes a PIPE of $230 million, a little lower than earlier reports, from investors such as AMF Pensionsförsäkring and Palantir Technologies Inc. Existing Babylon shareholders will roll 100% of their equity into the combined company and will own approximately 84% of the pro forma company at closing sometime in the second half of the year. It will trade on NASDAQ under BBLN. Ali Parsa, Babylon’s founder, CEO, and face of the business, will remain chairman and CEO. Babylon’s release has the financial details, including the investor presentation. FierceHealthcare
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