The Life Sciences and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) teams advised EQRx, Inc. on its definitive merger agreement with CM Life Sciences III, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLTU). The transaction is expected to provide up to $1.8 billion in cash proceeds to EQRx, expanding the cash on its balance sheet to approximately $2 billion at closing.
EQRx is a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering important new medicines to patients at radically lower prices.
CM Life Sciences III is a life science-focused SPAC sponsored by affiliates of Casdin Capital, LLC and Corvex Management LP.
Upon closing of the business combination, CM Life Sciences III will be renamed “EQRx, Inc.” and its common stock and warrants are expected to remain listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under ticker symbols “EQRX” and “EQRXW,” respectively.
The financing includes approximately $552 million of cash held in CM Life Sciences III’s trust account (assuming no redemptions), and a fully committed private placement of common stock of $1.2 billion from top-tier healthcare investors.
The Goodwin team was led by William Collins and Marianne Sarrazin, and included Mitch Bloom, Mayan Katz, Timothy Ayotte, Brett Jackson, Pooja Sudarshan, Dan Liu (Corporate); Kingsley Taft, Cathy McCarty, Erin Svokos, Chris Zhong, Suzanne Nguyen, and Ioana Davies (Intellectual Property and Licensing); Daniel Karelitz, Benjamin Gossels, and Matthew Dunay (Tax); Sarah Bock, and Chris Jones (ERISA and Executive Compensation);Roger Cohen, Simone Otenaike, and Nikhil Sethi (Healthcare Regulatory); Kara Kuritz, Simone Waterbury, and Ortal Ben Aharon (Antitrust); and Jacob Osborn and Carrie Miller (Global Trade).
Goodwin has advised EQRx since its 2020 launch and $200 million Series A financing, including through its $500 million Series B financing earlier this year.
For more details on the merger, read the press release.