8i Acquisition 2 Corp. To Combine With EUDA Health Limited; Combined Value Of Co Expected To Be ~$580M
EUDA Health Limited, a Singapore-based digital health platform that aims to make healthcare more affordable, accessible, and improve the patient experience by delivering improved outcomes through personalized healthcare, and 8i Acquisition 2 Corp. (8i) (NASDAQ:LAX), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in EUDA Health Limited becoming a publicly listed company.
Upon the close of the transaction, LAX will be renamed EUDA Health Limited (EUDA Health) and is expected to remain listed on NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol "EUDA".
EUDA Health operates a first-of-its-kind Southeast Asian healthcare analytics platform dedicated to customer-centric solutions that increase access to quality care, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs. The company's ecosystem-based approach serves a full spectrum of healthcare needs, including wellness and prevention, urgent care and emergencies, pre-existing conditions, and after care services. Leveraging its end-to-end expertise in healthcare management, EUDA Health's proprietary unified AI platform connects patients, insurers, and medical professionals to the necessary data to triage conditions and digitally connect with medical professionals for personalized treatment protocols that optimize patient outcomes and ongoing care.
EUDA Health is poised to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar Southeast Asia healthcare industry where healthcare expenditures continually outpace GDP growth and efficient access to comprehensive care is uncertain. Southeast Asia has seen accelerated adoption of healthcare IT, with usage increasing by 400% in 2020 alone. EUDA Health aims to be an industry leader throughout this transition. Where patients once waited hours to see a doctor for ten minutes, EUDA Health's platform strives to connect patient members to medical experts within five minutes on average, alleviating an overburdened system and enhancing the patient experience.
Since its founding in 2019, EUDA Health has grown tremendously and is expected to operate across five countries— Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia— by the end of 2022. Through its innovative and dynamic solutions, EUDA Health has developed a diversified revenue stream and gained clear line-of-sight into sustainable growth through both geographic expansion and enhanced service offerings.
"EUDA Health's mission is to make healthcare more affordable and accessible, while improving the patient experience and healthcare outcomes through personalized healthcare," said EUDA Health Founder & CEO Dr. Kelvin Chen. "Our platform creates an ecosystem that accomplishes this through comprehensive, end-to-end care. We have assembled a team of experts from every corner of the industry who are passionate about transforming how patients are cared for."
James Meng Dong Tan, CEO & Director of 8i Acquisition 2 Corp., commented: "By executing this stock purchase agreement with EUDA Health we are entering into the future of healthcare services. Through its differentiated AI platform and commitment to providing the highest level of patient outcomes, EUDA Health has attracted the partnerships of internationally recognized blue-chip organizations. In a short period, the management team has built a truly unique platform and gained a meaningful foothold into the Asia Pacific region. We are excited to be partnering with EUDA Health on this landmark opportunity."
Transaction Overview
The combined company will have an estimated post-transaction enterprise value of $583 million, consisting of an estimated equity value of $673 million and $90 million in net cash, assuming no redemptions of 8i public stockholders. Cash proceeds raised will consist of 8i's approximately $86.3 million of cash in trust (before redemptions). Additional earnouts in the form of 9 million total shares will be awarded post-transaction close if EUDA's share price reaches $15, $20 and $25 over three years.
Proceeds from the trust account (assuming no redemptions) is expected to be used for product development and other AI technology research, business expansion and potential strategic investment and acquisition opportunities. EUDA's growth strategy is expected to generate estimated revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $200 million and $43 million, respectively, in 2023.
The transaction with EUDA Health is a related party transaction. Mr. Tan, LAX's CEO and Chairman of the Board, is a 10% shareholder of Watermark Developments Limited ("Watermark"), the sole shareholder of EUDA Health. Watermark will roll 100% of its equity into the combined company and will own approximately 82% of the combined company's outstanding ordinary shares on a pro forma basis (assuming no redemptions) immediately after the closing. EverEdge Global has been engaged to render a fairness opinion on the fairness of the transaction to LAX from a financial point of view.
The business combination has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both EUDA Health and LAX and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, and other customer closing conditions.
For a summary of the material terms of the proposed transaction, as well as a supplemental investor presentation, please see the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by LAX with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Additional information about the proposed transaction will be described in LAX's proxy statement relating to the business combination, which will be filed with the SEC.