Hong Kong Start-up Prenetics to List in the U.S. Through a SPAC Deal at $1.7B

Biotech company Prenetics, out of Hong Kong, is going to go public through a SPAC merger with Artisan Acquisition that will value the company at $1.7 billion.

Artisan Acquisition is backed by the CEO and Executive Vice Chairman of Hong Kong-listed New World Development, Adrian Cheng.

Cheng says that Prenetics was picked for several reasons.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Cheng said the start-up is a high -growth company that is disrupting the health-care industry and is led by an established entrepreneur.

Cheng was referring to Aritsan’s CEO and co-founder Danny Yeung with the comment.

“We were very confident about his track record,” Cheng said.

“U.S. is a priority market for us, Southeast Asia and the rest of Europe — certainly we are going to be investing back into growth, manufacturing, product development, and R&D, said Yeung to CNBC.

Founded in 2014, Prenetics has conducted to date over 5 million COVID-19 tests.

The merger will make the company the first Hong Kong unicorn to become a publicly traded company.

The combined company will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “PRE” upon completion of the merger.

According to a CNBC report, the two companies are expecting to close the transaction as early as the fourth quarter.

The merger is anticipated to offer up to $459 million in cash proceeds, which will go towards strategic acquisitions as well as geographical expansion and research and development.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.