Stamford health intelligence company Sema4 has completed its business combination with CM Life Sciences, paving the way for the combined company ”“ Sema4 Holdings Corp. ”“ to debut as a publicly-traded firm.
The new entity will begin trading its shares of common stock and warrants on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbols “SMFR” and “SMFRW” on July 23. The merger was approved by the stockholders of CM Life Sciences on July 21.
Sema4 founder and CEO Eric Schadt, along with the company”™s current executive team, will continue to lead the combined firm. Sema4 intends to use the influx of capital ”“ approximately $500 million in cash proceeds ”“ to support its organic operating needs and capitalize on inorganic opportunities to accelerate growth through the acquisition of complementary businesses.
“The completion of our merger with CM Life Sciences, and being listed on Nasdaq as a publicly-traded company, is a major milestone for Sema4 and our employees, partners, and patients,” said Schadt. “With the capital raised from this successful transaction, we are well-positioned to help further close the gap between the practice of medicine and the availability of more clinically actionable guidance in order to improve the standard of care. We look forward to continuing to develop and scale our innovative health intelligence platform to enable health systems in delivering precision medicine as the standard of care.”
“With the merger now complete, Sema4 can really step on the gas and accelerate its powerful business model,” said Eli Casdin, former CEO of CM Life Sciences. “This is a unique company set to transform health care by leveraging genomic and clinical data with artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver an enhanced understanding of disease and wellness.”
Following the business combination, the Sema4 Board of Directors includes several prominent executives previously unaffiliated with Sema4: Casdin; Emily Leproust, CEO of Twist Biosciences; Jason Ryan, most recently Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Magenta Therapeutics; and Nat Turner, co-founder of Flatiron Health. They join directors Dennis Charney, Michael Pellini, Joshua Ruch, Schadt, and Rachel Sherman.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisers to Sema4. Fenwick & West LLP served as legal advisor to Sema4.
Jefferies LLC acted as sole financial adviser, lead capital markets advisor, and sole placement agent to CM Life Sciences, with Cowen and Co. LLC also acting as a capital markets adviser. White & Case LLP served as legal adviser to CM Life Sciences.
