Babylon will cease trading on NYSE, combine with MindMaze

Multinational digital health firm Babylon announced it has accepted a take-private proposal from AlbaCore Capital on behalf of its affiliate digital-neurotherapy company MindMaze, which will transition Babylon from a publicly-traded company to a private entity.

Babylon and MindMaze, which makes game-like rehabilitation tools for neurological conditions and injuries, will form a global privately-owned business offering a value-based AI-driven care platform with the clinical, technological and operational ability to provide primary care and diagnose, manage and treat diseases.

The transaction will allow for a new capital structure to reduce pro forma company debt. It will also include funding for Babylon’s current business operations and funds for the pro forma company.

AlbaCore will exercise its rights under its debt agreements with Babylon, and no money will be distributed to Babylon’s Limited Class A ordinary shareholders or other equity instrument holders. The transaction will also transfer core operating subsidiaries of Babylon to MindMaze. 

The deal is expected to close in July. In the meantime, the companies will continue executing their respective day-to-day operations, and Babylon will continue to operate on its existing business plan. 

The companies plan to combine MindMaze and Babylon over the mid- to long-term. 

Once the deal closes, Babylon will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BBLN. 

THE LARGER TREND

In 2021, Babylon went public through a $4.2 billion special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Alkuri Global Acquisition. 

In November, Babylon announced it would proceed with a reverse share split of its Class A ordinary shares, which would trade on a split-adjusted basis when the NYSE opened December 16, with par value of the shares changed to $0.0001 per share. The split aimed to boost its stock price to prevent it from being delisted.

Last month Babylon announced its plans to go private less than two years after it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. It also relayed that it had entered into an agreement with AlbaCore Capital for a secured term loan facility for up to $34.5 million to support the company’s plans to delist. 

Meanwhile, digital-neurotherapy company MindMaze was garnering large investments. In 2022, the company scored $105 million in financing just months after it announced it had raised $125 million.  

Earlier this year, MindMaze announced the launch of Izar, a smart peripheral for patients with impaired hand motor function that is aimed at improving hand dexterity and strength.

Last year, New York-based Mount Sinai Health System announced it would deploy home-based care and an outpatient rehab program incorporating MindMaze’s tools for stroke and concussion patients.

The company announced several partnerships in 2021 to expand in Latin America, the Middle East, Spain and Switzerland. In 2018, it scooped up fellow neuro-rehabilitation tech company Neuro Motor Innovations.

It received FDA clearance for its MindMotion Go platform in 2018 and for its MindMotion Pro system in 2017.