Benzinga | May 17, 2021 09:26AM EDT

Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Announces Reverse Merger Agreement With Aadi Bioscience

* Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ARPO) has agreed to merge with a privately-held Aadi Bioscience.

* Following the proposed merger, the new entity will operate under the Aadi Bioscience moniker and focus on advancing Aadi's lead product candidate, Fyarrotm (sirolimus albumin-bound nanoparticles for injectable suspension; nab-sirolimus; ABI-009).

* Aerpio has entered into PIPE financing of $155 million led by Acuta Capital Partners, KVP Capital, and other institutional investors.

* With the cash expected from both companies at closing, the net proceeds of the PIPE financing are expected to fund the company into 2024.

* The combined company will be led by Aadi's chief executive officer, Neil Desai, and headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

* Aadi's board members Neil Desai and Richard Maroun; Aadi's board observer Karin Hehenberger; and current Aerpio board members Anupam Dalal and Caley Castelein will be members of the board of directors of the combined company.

* In addition, Behzad Aghazadeh, managing partner of Avoro Capital Advisors and Avoro Ventures, will also join the board.

* Under the terms of the merger agreement, shareholders of Aadi will receive shares of newly issued Aerpio common stock.

* On a pro forma basis, shareholders of Aadi will own approximately 66.8%, and shareholders of Aerpio will own about 33.2% of the combined company before the additional PIPE financing transaction.

* The merger agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021

* Ladenburg Thalmann is acting as financial advisor to Aerpio for the transaction, and Perella Weinberg Partners and Piper Sandler are acting as financial advisors to Aadi.

* Price Action: ARPO shares are up 17.2% at $1.36 in the premarket session on the last check Monday.