Avista Public Acquisition II called an Oct. 24 meeting for shareholders to vote on its proposed merger with OmniAb, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals. The registation statement on the deal has been declared effective by the SEC.
The combination of OmniAb and AHPA is structured to guarantee a minimum of $130 million in gross cash to the combined company at closing, and up to $266 million in the event of no redemptions by APAC shareholders.
If approved, upon closing the SPAC’s sponsor Avista Capital Partners and a private equity firm focused on the healthcare industry have agreed to invest up to $115 million in the combined company, and Ligand will contribute $15 million.
The combined company will have an initial pre-money equity valuation of $850 million. Prior to the transaction close, Ligand intends to distribute 100% of its ownership of OmniAb to Ligand shareholders in a tax-free distribution.
Ligand’s OmniAb antibody discovery platform provides pharmaceutical industry partners with access to diverse antibody repertoires and high-throughput screening technologies to enable discovery of next-generation therapeutics. Read more.
