(Reuters) – Biotech firm Tevogen Bio will go public in the United States through a blank-check merger that values the combined entity at about $1.2 billion, the companies said on Thursday.
The deal with Semper Paratus Acquisition will help Tevogen speed up the development of its COVID-19 therapy, TVGN 489.
The combined company will be named Tevogen Bio Holdings and its shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TVGN” after the deal closes, likely in the fourth quarter of 2023.
A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), also known as a “blank-check firm,” is a listed entity that merges with a private firm to take it public. Such shell companies help private firms avoid the longer route of an initial public offering for going public.
SPACs had largely fallen out of favor after a series of regulatory challenges, but investors have lately showed enthusiasm for startups in the healthcare sector listing via blank-check mergers.
(Reporting by Manya Saini and and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
