Foodtech company Borealis Foods to go public via Oxus Acquisition

Foodtech company Borealis Foods Inc will go public through a business combination with Oxus Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a transaction that values the former at an enterprise value pre-money of $150 million.

The combined entity, called Borealis Foods Inc., develops nutritious and functional food products to address global food security challenges.

Borealis Foods’ plant-based, ready-to-eat meals are sold in the US and Canada, with plans to foray into Europe.

Reza Soltanzadeh — Borealis Foods CEO said: “By closing a business combination with Oxus, we can fully realize our mission of developing food technology solutions to address global food challenges.”

The foodtech company is said to have developed and launched the world’s first mass-produced plant-based ramen meal, with an estimated $40 billion market.

The manufacturing facility Palmetto Gourmet Foods is a wholly owned US subsidiary of Borealis and produces 600 million per year of ready-to-eat ramen meals.

Kanat Mynzhanov – Oxus Acquisition CEO said: “…we have evaluated many potential candidates and we believe that we have found an excellent partner in Borealis, as a leading platform in food tech, and Palmetto as their first successful application of such innovation on a commercial scale.”

Torys LLP (Canada), Travers Thorp Alberga (Cayman Islands), and Greenberg Traurig, LLP are acting as legal counsel to Oxus (US) in connection with this transaction.

Nixon Peabody LLP (US) and Bennett Jones LLP (Canada) are serving as legal counsel to Borealis Foods.

The close of the transaction is expected during Q3 2023, subject to certain customary closing conditions.

Oxus Acquisition raised around $173 million in its initial public offering and was listed on the Nasdaq in September 2021.