Maxpro Capital Acquisition Corp.（Maxpro Capital）, a Nasdaq-based SPAC whose founders are from Taiwan, has signed a merger agreement with California-based cancer drug company Apollomics, which will give Maxpro Capital the opportunity to list on Nasdaq in the first quarter of next year, biopharmaceutical investment firm Genworth Capital said on 23 June. Maxpro Capital will be officially listed on Nasdaq in the first quarter of next year.
In addition to TSMC and other internationally competitive companies issuing ADRs in the US, a number of start-up companies have also listed in Japan and the US in recent years to raise capital. The Nasdaq Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) mechanism has also become a popular listing model in recent years.
SPACs are a unique financing tool in the US capital markets. The operating model is for the SPAC to first raise funds through an IPO on Nasdaq or the NYSE as the acquiring company, and then seek a suitable investment target for a share purchase within a 12 to 24 month period. Once the target is successfully identified and the agreement is signed, the reverse merger will be conducted and, subject to the approval of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEOC), the target company will be able to use the original SPAC listed company to complete the reverse merger and listing.
Maxpro Capital, established by Maxpro Ventures, will not only be the first company to complete a SPAC listing in Taiwan, but if the reverse merger is successfully completed, it will also be the first listed company in Taiwan to successfully complete the reverse merger and listing process (de-SPAC).
Founded by three Taiwanese partners, Maxpro Ventures provides a sustainable fund that seeks to invest in new start-up companies and then looks for new targets after making profits.
Since its establishment, Maxpro Ventures has become a founding shareholder of many biotech companies, many of which have gone public and reached a market value of over $10 billion (e.g. Polaris, PharmaEssentia).
In July 2021, the company raised over US$7 million to establish Jade Mountain Acquisition Corp. in the US and successfully raised US$103 million in October of the same year to list on the NASDAQ, which was subsequently renamed Maxpro Capital Acquisition Corp. Maxpro Capital seeks investment targets in the biotechnology and technology sectors, targeting start-up companies in the areas of new pharmaceuticals, medical materials, big data and financial technology, and listing them through the SPAC pipeline.
In September this year, Maxpro Capital signed a business combination agreement with California-based cancer drug discovery company, TPMC, and plans to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2023, subject to SEC review and approval. According to a press release issued by both companies, the estimated equity value of TPMC is US$899 million (approximately NT$28 billion), and if the merger is completed in the first quarter of next year, the total value of the merger, together with the US$105 million of the original SPAC Trust (if not redeemed by the original shareholders), is expected to be more than US$1 billion.
After establishing this new model, Maxpro Ventures will continue to look for biotech and IT start-ups with innovative technology and investment value in the US, Europe and Asia to invest in, and then raise capital in Taiwan and the US through financial instruments such as SPACs. We are an investment team that maximises the capital of our shareholders and investors.
