Telehealth startup Babylon to go public via $4.2 billion SPAC deal (updated)

Babylon Holdings

03/06/2021 17:33

(Add deal details)
    By Krystal Hu and Sohini Podder
    June 3 (Reuters) - British online health startup Babylon
Health said on Thursday it has agreed to go public in the United
States through a merger with a blank-check firm led by former
Groupon chief Rich Williams, at a pro-forma equity valuation of
$4.2 billion. 
    The deal with Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp  KURI.O  will
provide up to $575 million in gross proceeds to Babylon,
including $230 million private placement from investors such as
AMF Pensionsförsäkring and Palantir Technologies Inc  PLTR.N .
    Founded in 2013, Babylon provides video medical appointments
and AI-powered diagnoses. It has partnered with the UK's
National Health Service and U.S. hospitals such as Mount Sinai
Health Partners as it pushes for global expansion.
    "We're solving a fundamental problem in the healthcare
system all over the world - how to balance accessibility,
quality and affordability," said Ali Parsa, founder and chief
executive at Babylon. "We managed to achieve it in the UK and
brought it to countries including Rwanda in Africa, the United
States and Canada."
    Babylon said it now covers 24 million patients around the
world. It reported $79 million in revenue in 2020, a 394%
year-over-year increase, and it expects that to swell to $321
million this year. 
    The company was last valued at $2 billion during a
fundraising round in 2019, counting investors including Munich
Re Ventures and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund as
backers.
    Babylon will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol
"BBLN" after the deal is closed by year-end. 
    

 (Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru and Krystal Hu in New
York
Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Matthew Lewis)
 ((Krystal.hu@thomsonreuters.com
sohini.podder@thomsonreuters.com;))