NEW YORK – DiaCarta said Monday that it received notice that special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) HH&L Acquisition was ending a merger agreement through which the molecular diagnostics firm would have gone public.
Pleasanton, California-based DiaCarta and HH&L Acquisition had inked an agreement in October 2022 for DiaCarta to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through the merger. HH&L sent notice on June 26 that it was ending the agreement, citing undisclosed allegations of wrongdoing, which DiaCarta denies.
"HH&L's allegations are false and baseless, and the company rejects them in their entirety," DiaCarta said in a statement. "We have worked diligently and in good faith to consummate the parties' transaction, and the company has fulfilled all its obligations and duties under the agreement."
In a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated June 30, HH&L said DiaCarta had breached the agreement through fraudulent misrepresentations.
DiaCarta had said in October the transaction would give it access to about $414 million in cash from proceeds of HH&L's initial public offering, and the deal valuated DiaCarta at $460 million pre-investment on a fully diluted basis.