Aprinoia Therapeutics, which is studying drugs for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, is going public through a deal with Wilbur Ross’s blank-check company.
The deal with Ross Acquisition Corp. II values the combined company at about $320 million including debt, according to a statement that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. As part of the deal Ross will invest $7.5 million through a convertible note with other investors committing an additional $5 million.
Aprinoia, which focuses on treating neurodegenerative diseases, has research and development partners including Samsung Biologics Co., the biotechnology company Insilico Medicine and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Ross is chairman and chief executive officer of the special purpose acquisition company, which raised $345 million in a 2021 initial public offering. The blank-check firm marked the 85-year-old’s return to corporate America after serving as U.S. secretary of commerce in former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The SPAC was in advanced talks about a tie-up with the U.K.’s Atom Bank Plc before the deal stalled, Sky News reported. The blank-check firm was previously in talks to merge with GaN Systems, Bloomberg News reported.
