Ark Funds, Illumina Invest In SomaLogic SPAC Deal: What Investors Should Know

A leader in the proteomics field is going public with a SPAC deal announced Monday.

The SPAC Deal: SomaLogic announced a SPAC deal with CM Life Sciences II Inc CMIIU, valuing the company at $1.2 billion.

A $375 million PIPE on the SPAC merger includes investments from SoftBank Group Corp SFTBY, T. Rowe Price, Illumina, Inc. ILMN, Novartis AG NVS and accounts advised by Ark Invest.

Kevin Conroy, the CEO of EXACT Sciences Corporation EXAS will join the board of directors after the merger is complete.

Current shareholders of CM Life Sciences II will own 14% of the company after the merger. PIPE investors will own 20% of the company after the merger.

About SomaLogic: Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, SomaLogic offers a proteomics platform for advanced research and clinical applications. For example, the SomaScan Assay measures over 7,000 proteins in a single sample.

The company has more than 300 established industry partnerships and customers and offers a pioneering technology platform.

SomaLogic offers the only technology stackable to solve the comprehensive market need for proteomics, according to the company’s presentation.

SomaLogic offers a first-mover advantage, a large customer base and has 10x the size of data than its next competitor, according to the presentation.

Related Link: Ark Invest Backs SPAC Merger For Quantum Si, A Company Founded By Butterfly Network’s Jonathan Rothberg

Growth Ahead: SomaLogic sees growth ahead in the proteomics market. The company said it will expand its technology development, offer new products, build upon its commercial infrastructure, pursue additional health system partnerships and deliver universal proteomics solutions to more customers.

The proteomics market is listed with a $90 billion total addressable market compared to a $70 billion market size for the genomics market.

The interest from Ark Funds in genomics along with the Ark Genomic Revolution ETF ARKG has put a spotlight on the sector. Proteomics could be the next growth sector and seeing Ark Funds be involved in the PIPE on this deal signals some interest in the sector.

Financials: Revenue for SomaLogic was $55 million in fiscal 2020.

SomaLogic expects compounded annual growth of 40% over the next five years. Revenue estimates are $65 million in fiscal 2021 and $85 million in fiscal 2022.

The company said it has a fast-growing business and will see expanding high margins in the future.

CMIIU Price Action: Shares of CM Life Sciences II units are up 9.73% to $12.75 Monday morning.

See also: How to Invest in SPACs 

(Photo: Louis Reed via Unsplash)