Alps Global to go public in US via $1.6 billion blank-check deal

(Reuters) - Alps Global Holding Berhad on Wednesday agreed to go public in the U.S. through a merger with a blank-check company in a deal that valued the biotechnology company at $1.6 billion.

The proceeds of the deal with special purpose acquisition company Globalink Investment will be used for working capital, growth capex and other general corporate purposes, the companies said.

Blank-check mergers allow private firms to sidestep a lengthy IPO process to list their shares on bourses. They had largely fallen out of favor following a bumper run in 2020 and 2021 due to intense scrutiny from the U.S. regulators.

The merger agreement is expected to close in the second quarter after which the combined company will be named "Alps Life Science Inc". It is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq.

Founded in 2017, Alps focuses on developing personalized medicine using technologies such as genomics DNA, mRNA, and cellular therapy.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)