The founder of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) is launching a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that has its eyes set on a $300 million public offering. Senior care — and home-based care, in particular — will be among the new entity’s priorities.
Richard Burke became the longest-serving director of UnitedHealth Group after he founded the company. He’s now taking a shot at one of the hottest new trends on Wall Street — SPACs — to delve into the senior care market.
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based SPAC, currently dubbed “Senior Connect Acquisition Corp.,” is planning on capitalizing off of the tailwinds that the U.S.’s aging population provides. The company is especially interested in honing in on social determinants of health (SDoH), home-based care services and other health platforms, financial filings suggest.
The SPAC is additionally interested in financial and legacy services, as well as senior lifestyle businesses, in general, as parts of its operating model.
It hopes to sell “30 million units” valued at $10 to raise that $300 million. Each unit will consist of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, which is exercisable at $11.50, according to Renaissance Capital.
The proposed deal size would command a market value of $375 million.
UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health care company that offers a broad spectrum of products and services through UnitedHealthcare and Optum. UnitedHealthcare provides health care coverage and benefit services, while Optum provides information and technology-enabled health services.
Simply put, SPACs are an increasingly popular alternative avenue to going public. Often referred to as “blank check” companies, SPACs raise money through an IPO and then search for an acquisition target.
After a merger has been completed, the target becomes a listed stock.
The Wall Street Journal has previously detailed how 2020 became a record year for SPACs.
San Francisco-based Clover Health, a Medicare Advantage insurer with a home-based focus, announced that it was going public with a SPAC in October.
On his end, Burke has led five different companies in addition to UnitedHealth Group. He will now hold the positions of chairman and CEO for Senior Connect Acquisition Corp. He currently serves as a managing partner at Rainy Partners, a Scottsdale-based business management consulting firm.
On top of his health care background, Burke also has an interesting history in professional sports. Burke bought the Winnipeg Jets, an NHL team, in the 90s, then brought them to Arizona before selling the franchise at the turn of the century.
Senior Connect Acquisition plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SNRHU.” The company originally filed to go public in early October.
Companies featured in this article:
