NEW YORK – Proteomics firm Nautilus Biotechnology plans to list on the Nasdaq through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp III.
Seattle-based Nautilus has entered a definitive merger agreement with Arya and is expected to receive $350 million in proceeds through the deal, including a $200 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction at $10 per share from investors led by Perceptive Advisors, an affiliate of Arya III's sponsor.
Other investors in the PIPE include RA Capital Management, Ally Bridge Group, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Franklin Templeton Investments, OrbiMed, Alyeska Investment Group, Casdin Capital, and existing Nautilus Biotechnology shareholders including Andreessen Horowitz, Madrona Venture Group, and Vulcan Capital.
Once the transaction closes, Arya III will redomicile as a Delaware corporation, be renamed Nautilus Biotechnology, and start trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NAUT. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
Proceeds of the transaction will go towards development of the company's proteomics platform, growing its scientific, engineering, and commercial teams, and supporting general corporate activities.
"We believe Nautilus has the potential to help revolutionize biomedicine with an ultra-sensitive, single-molecule protein analysis platform designed to comprehensively analyze and quantify the human proteome," Nautilus CEO Sujal Patel said in a statement. "Our long-standing relationship with Perceptive Advisors, combined with a strong syndicate of other investors, makes us confident that this transaction aligns well with our goals of unlocking what we believe to be a significant opportunity in biological science, and creating long-term shareholder value."
Cofounded in 2016 by Patel and Chief Scientist Parag Mallick, an associate professor at Stanford University, Nautilus uses machine learning to make protein identifications based on measurements of multiple parameters describing the target molecules. Last year, the company raised $76 million in a Series B funding round.