Wilbur Ross-Backed SPAC to Take Drug Developer Startup Aprinoia Public

SPAC Ross Acquisition Corp. II, which is backed by former US Commerce Secretary under the Trump Administration Wilbur Ross, plans to merge with Alzheimer’s drug developer Aprinoia, making it one of the first biotech blank check deals of the new year.

The deal estimates the equity value of the Massachusetts-based Aprinoia and Ross Acquisition at $280 million. Ross will give $7.5 million of his own money through a convertible note and up to $12.5 million at closing. The merger is expected to close during the first half of the year.

This funding is intended to meet the capital requirements needed to bring the company’s lead product, 18F-APN-1607, through to commercialization in China.

SPAC Ross Acquisition Corp. II, which is listed on the NYSE, and Aprinoia have yet to decide whether the combined company will trade on the NYSE or Nasdaq. The enterprise value comes out to $319.6 million, including debt, the companies said. Aprinoia’s existing shareholders are expected to receive anywhere from 42% to 74% of the merged entity.

The company previously disclosed a $40 million Series C in 2021 and a $11.1 million Series B in January 2018. CEO Ming-Kuei Jang founded the startup in 2015 after working at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, GSK’s Shanghai site and Merck’s neurodegeneration research in Boston.