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Pasadena chipmaker Rockley Photonics to go public in $1.2bn SPAC deal

By 21/03/2021June 4th, 2021No Comments

Rockley Photonics Ltd., the Pasadena, California-headquartered silicon photonics platform provider, said on Friday that the seven-year old leading supplier of integrated optical components such as specialized semiconductors for consumer sensors, healthcare and data communication, would go public via a merger with an SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) or blank-check firm SC Health Corp in a deal that could value the Pasadena-based chipmaker at $1.2 billion, jumping on the bandwagon of a string of SPAC-backed US public listing this year following a dour 2020.

On top of that, latest Rockley Phonetics move to go public through a merger with an SPAC, came against the backdrop of a Wall Street which has been hovering close to an all-time peak amid a tempting tech boom. Apart from that, Rockley Photonics Ltd was quoted saying in the statement that the merger deal with SC Health Corp., an SPAC, could deliver up to $323 million in fresh capitals for the combined entity, which Rockley said would help accelerate a rollout of its platform for commercial purposes.

In factuality, SPACs or blank check firms are shell entities that could be capitalized on to taking a company public following a merger or acquisition, while SPACs are allowed to raise funds in IPOs or from private investors to finance their planned mergers or acquisitions without telling the investors about the firms they have been pursuing.

Concomitantly, Pasadena-based Rockley’s silicon photonics platform could have wide-ranging implications in a swathe of sectors including wearable devices and smartwatches that help consumers a continuous monitoring of their critical biomarkers such as blood glucose level, temperature alongside blood pressure.

In tandem, Rockley had also added at its statement that the company was looking to a potential tie-up with physicians and medical device makers, largely aimed at stretching out the practice of its platform to enhance disease prevention alongside detection.