Spiritus Mundi plc has today announced its intention to launch an initial public offering (“IPO”) and to admit its Ordinary Shares to the standard segment of the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Spiritus Mundi was established in 2021 as a special purpose acquisition vehicle which will seek acquisition targets in Europe and Asia in the clinical diagnostics sector to include (but not limited to):
· Clinical laboratory services (clinical lab);
· Clinical Diagnostics (PCR and blood test); and
· Digital Health (Healthcare IT platform).
VSA Capital Limited has been appointed as the Company’s Financial Adviser and Broker.
Key Highlights
· Spiritus Mundi has been established by Zaccheus Peh, an experienced developer of clinical diagnostics, laboratory services and medical services businesses.
· The two Proposed Directors are, or have been, CEOs of laboratory businesses with a combined annual revenue of approximately US$2.7 billion.
· The Company has already raised approximately £1.2 million in a pre-IPO fundraising round.
· The clinical diagnostics industry has experienced high growth due to Covid-19, with PCR testing having been used for over 75% of the Covid-19 diagnostics tests performed globally.
· Covid-19 is now considered endemic, with the virus expected to continue to be present in the global population for years to come, and Covid-19 testing demand is expected to continue offering the opportunity for fast scale growth with people undergoing diagnosis for preventive reasons and government initiatives to develop coronavirus detection tools.
· The global molecular diagnostics market is forecast by Research and Markets to reach US$49.3 billion by 2028 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.9% from 2021 to 2028.
· Demand for digital health services has increased as a result of Covid-19, with a greater number of providers delivering virtual services to patients.
· The global digital health market was valued by Precedence Research at US$181.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$551 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 16.5%.
· Covid-19 has created many challenges and interoperability is deemed critical to the success of many governments’ plans, as well as for the monitoring of travellers due to global travel restrictions. This has led to the adoption of new technologies, such as blockchain-based Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), widely used since last year, which have reduced the time needed to access patient information and improved data quality and interoperability.
Acquisition Strategy
The Company’s board, through their established global network of contacts, have identified a number of potentially promising acquisitions. The Company does not currently have any specific initial acquisition under consideration and does not expect to engage in substantive negotiations with any opportunity or prospective target company and/or business until after Admission.
The Company will seek to create an attractive income-generating business and increase shareholder value through the operation of the acquired business or businesses.
The board will be focussed on the identification and acquisition of companies which have one or more of the following characteristics:
· are run by a management team with a strong track record of generating growth for shareholders and a proven experienced business record;
· have attractive commercial prospects within the clinical diagnostics sector in general;
· will have the capability to further develop their activities in a post Covid world; and
· have revenues which offer the potential for near-term positive cash flows.
An acquisition (and potentially, any subsequent acquisitions or investments made by the Company) is likely to be treated as a reverse takeover for the purposes of Chapter 5 of the Listing Rules and the Company will need to seek re-admission of Spiritus Mundi and its acquired subsidiaries to listing on the Official List and trading on the London Stock Exchange or to another stock exchange. Subsequent acquisitions may also be treated as reverse takeovers depending on their size and nature. Additional funding may be needed in the future to acquire further business and provide working capital.
Zaccheus Peh, Non-Executive Chairman of Spiritus Mundi, said: “I am delighted to announce the plans to list Spiritus Mundi on the London Stock Exchange. We believe there are attractive long term acquisition opportunities in our chosen sectors of laboratory and diagnostic testing and digital healthcare, as demonstrated by the recent surge in PCR testing for COVID -19. We plan to use Spiritus Mundi as a vehicle to acquire one or more exciting businesses in these areas in order to generate attractive returns for our shareholders.”
