Immatics, a Germany-based cancer immunotherapy developer backed by pharmaceutical company Amgen and telecommunications firm Swisscom, has executed a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition vehicle Arya Sciences Acquisition.
The company’s shares opened at $15.05 on the Nasdaq Capital Market late last week, closing at $14.40 yesterday to give Immatics a market cap of $5.64bn.
Proceeds from the transaction amounted to approximately $253m, consisting of $149m held in Arya’s trust account and a $104m private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal.
Perceptive Advisors had sponsored Arya and also contributed to the PIPE deal as part of a consortium that included Redmile Group, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, RTW Investments, Sphera Funds, Dievini Hopp BioTech, AT Impf and Wellington Partners.
Immatics is working on immunotherapies aimed at cancers considered difficult to treat, particularly solid tumours. It formed a strategic partnership agreement with pharmaceutical firm Celgene in August 2019 that involved it receiving a $75m upfront payment.
Pharmaceutical firm Amgen took part in a $58m series E round for the company in October 2017 having formed a collaboration deal with it earlier the same year. The corporate invested alongside Dievini Hopp Biotech, Wellington Partners, AT Impf and unnamed existing backers.
Immatics had closed a $46m series D round in 2014 that was backed by Dievini Hopp Biotech, Wellington Partners, AT Impf and funds advised by MIG. It collected $75m in a 2010 series C round featuring Swisscom-backed Mona Lisa Fund, Dievini Hopp Biotech and Wellington Partners.
Wellington Partners, 3i, DH Capital, OH Beteiligungen, National Technology Enterprises Company and KfW had supplied $52.1m in series B funding for the company in 2004, Wellington and 3i having taken part in a $18m series A round earlier the same year with Grazia Equity, L-EA/Seed and Merifin Capital.
