SPAC Avista Public Acquisition climbs on $850 mln deal with Ligand's unit

OmniAB

23/03/2022 20:54

** Shares of special purpose acquisition co, Avista Public
Acquisition Corp II  AHPA.O , up 2.4% at $10.25 after market
    ** Co to merge with a unit of biopharma co Ligand
Pharmaceuticals Inc  LGND.O  in $850 mln deal  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nBw12Gcnqa
    ** The unit, called OmniAb Inc, is LGND's antibody discovery
business and will become publicly traded as a result
    ** Private equity firm Avista Capital Partners, which is the
backer of the SPAC, will invest $115 mln in the combined co,
while LGND will contribute $15 mln, companies say
    ** Deal expected to close in second half of 2022
    ** OmniAb's business consists of genetically modifying
animals like rats and mice to develop potential therapeutic
candidates for humans
    ** SPAC raised $230 mln in its IPO in August 

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))