CORRECTED-Human tissue developer Humacyte nears SPAC deal to go public - sources
(Corrects share price performance of DermTech in finalparagraph. Erroneous mention of Carnelian Energy CapitalManagement removed in earlier corrected version)
By Joshua Franklin and Rebecca Spalding
NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Humacyte Inc, a developer ofuniversally implantable bioengineered human tissues and organs,has agreed a deal to go public through a merger with blank-checkacquisition company Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp,according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal would be a rare instance of a company focused ondeveloping human tissue in laboratories coming to the publicmarket.
The merger would give Humacyte a pre-money valuation of $800million with the company potentially worth around $1.1 billionupon closing of the deal, the sources said.
The sources, who requested anonymity as the details are notpublic, said an official announcement could come as early asWednesday.
Humacyte declined to comment.
Durham, North Carolina-based Humacyte was founded in 2004 byDr. Laura Niklason and is developing therapeutic applicationsfor illnesses including end-stage renal disease and repair orreplacement of damaged arteries, according to its website.
Humacyte's directors include Robert Langer, a U.S. chemicalengineer who is also on the board of biotechnology companyModerna Inc and is a professor at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.
Alpha Healthcare is a special purpose acquisition company(SPAC). It raised $100 million in an initial public offering(IPO) on the Nasdaq in September.
A SPAC is a shell company that raises money in an IPO tomerge with a privately held company that then becomes publiclytraded as a result. SPACs have emerged as a popular IPOalternative for companies, providing a path to going public withless regulatory scrutiny and more certainty over the valuationthat will be attained and funds that will be raised.
The SPAC is led by Rajiv Shukla, who led an earlier SPACwhich merged with molecular dermatology company DermTech Incin 2019 and closed on Tuesday at $75.65 per share.(Reporting by Joshua Franklin in Miami and Rebecca Spalding inNew York; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
