Roivant Sciences inked a SPAC deal to go public earlier this month, but it’s not getting off the SPAC track just yet. The company wants to reacquire Immunovant, one of its subsidiaries, which went public in late 2019 through a different SPAC.
Also called blank check companies, SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, go public with the intention of acquiring or merging with another company. Immunovant hit Wall Street in December 2019, when its acquisition by Health Sciences Acquisition Corporation (HSAC), a SPAC sponsored by RTW Investments, closed. Through the deal, it gained $100 million from the SPAC and $35 million through private financing, which would bankroll its work through the second half of 2021.
As is usual with SPAC deals, HSAC bought Immunovant, but the resulting company took the latter’s name, management team and strategic focus.
Meanwhile, Immunovant’s former and soon-to-be parent, Roivant, will list on the Nasdaq in the third quarter through a merger with Montes Archimedes Acquisition Corp. That will yield $411 million in proceeds from the SPAC and another $200 million through a private round.
Once that deal is settled, Roivant aims to reacquire Immunovant by offering a mix of cash and equity for the shares it does not own, the company revealed in a securities filing in March. Roivant owns 57.5% of Immunovant and said in the filing it would pay a “premium to current trading levels” to acquire it.
It’s not clear why Roivant wants to bring Immunovant back into the fold. Two months after selling the autoimmune player to HSAC, Roivant sold off several more Vants to Sumitomo Dainippon in a $3 billion deal. The Japanese pharma picked up a 10% stake in Roivant as well as the chance to buy six more Vants, an option that lasts until 2024.
What’s more, Immunovant’s stock took a dive in February when the company voluntarily stopped clinical trials of its drug, IMVT-1401, in thyroid eye disease and warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia because of an unexpected side effect.
But Roivant may know something the rest of us don’t. As Immunovant’s majority shareholder, the company said in the filing that it has “received nonpublic information” about Immunovant and its lead candidate.