Alan Mnuchin-backed SPAC to take health app Sharecare public for $3.9 bln (updated)

Sharecare

12/02/2021 11:47

(Adds details on deal, background on Sharecare)
    Feb 12 (Reuters) - Digital health startup Sharecare Inc said
on Friday it has agreed to go public through a merger with a
blank-check firm backed by veteran investment banker Alan
Mnuchin, in a deal that values the combined company at $3.9
billion. 
    The deal will be funded with a $425 million private
investment, led by Koch Strategic Platforms, Baron Capital
Group, Eldridge and Woodline Partners LP.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn3s1pfGa
    Mnuchin, brother of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve
Mnuchin, is a former vice president of Goldman Sachs  GS.N  and 
the founder of New York-based investment bank AGM Partners LLC.
    Sharecare's deal with Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp
 FCAC.O  is the latest among app-based healthcare providers
taking the SPAC route to go public. 
    Online therapy app Talkspace said on Jan. 13 it will go
public through a $1.4 billion deal with Doug Braunstein-backed
blank-check firm Hudson Executive Investment Corp  HECCU.O .
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JO2NC
    Reuters, citing sources, reported on Jan. 26 that Sharecare
was in talks to merge with an Alan Mnuchin-backed special
purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal that could value
the combined entity at nearly $4 billion.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2K13WX
    Founded in 2012 by WebMD founder Jeff Arnold, Atlanta-based
Sharecare is an online healthcare platform that provides its
customers with advice on health and lifestyle-related matters.
Arnold will continue to lead the merged entity as chief
executive officer. 
    SPACs like Falcon are shell companies that raise funds
through an initial public offering (IPO) to acquire a private
company, which becomes public as result. Falcon raised $345
million in an IPO in September last year. 
    Sharecare will be listed on the Nasdaq after the merger and
will trade under the new ticker symbol "SHCR".

 (Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)
 ((sohini.podder@thomsonreuters.com;))