Avista Public Acquisition II in a regulatory filing disclosed that its stockholders voted in favor of merging with Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a spin-off of its OmniAb antibody discovery subsidiary.
Approximately $224 million in Avista shares were redeemed ahead of the vote, about 94% of the SPAC’s cash in trust.
However, the deal was structured to guarantee a minimum of $130 million in gross cash at closing. Avista’s sponsor brought a $15 million PIPE to the deal and the SPAC has a $100 million backstop facility to offset the hefty redemptions.
The companies expect to close the transaction Nov. 1.
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.
