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DiaCarta to go Public Through SPAC Merger

NEW YORK — Molecular diagnostics firm DiaCarta said on Friday that it has struck a deal to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) HH&L Acquisition.

According to DiaCarta, the transaction will give it access to roughly $414 million in cash from the proceeds of HH&L's initial public offering, which is held in trust. The Pleasanton, California-based company said that the deal valuates it at $460 million pre-investment on a fully diluted basis. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

"As a result of the transaction, DiaCarta will be well positioned to capitalize on significant future growth within our existing customer base and expand into compelling adjacent markets," DiaCarta Founder and CEO Aiguo Zhang said in a statement. "This transaction represents a major milestone for DiaCarta, which will enable us to further invest in our technology and support pipeline growth."

If the deal closes, DiaCarta would be added to a list of biopharma and diagnostic companies that have used SPACs recently to tap the public markets, joining Human Longevity, Cardio Diagnostics, Prenetics, Ginkgo Bioworks, and SomaLogic, among others.

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