SPK Acquisition Corp. (SPK) Terminates Varian Bio Deal, Will Liquidate

SPK Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:SPK) announced in an 8-K this morning that it has terminated its combination agreement with Varian Bio and will instead liquidate on December 29.

The SPAC did not make a required $50,000 contribution to trust on December 10 to extend its transaction deadline and on December 21 gave notice that it would terminate the merger, citing breaches by Varian of one or more of the deal’s terms.

Without the extension payment, SPK was required to liquidate as soon as practicable. It has not yet released an official redemption rate, but it is estimated to have $10.41 per share in its trust.

An earlier extension vote on September 9 saw 79.6% of its shares redeemed, whittling its trust down to about $10.8 million. SPK was only required to maintain more than $5 million in cash available to meet the deal’s conditions, but the combination had already been pending for more than 10 months since its announcement on February 14.

Westport, Connecticut-based Varian Bio is developing two novel therapeutics using aPKCi inhibitors to attempt to impede tumor growth in basal cell carcinomas, the most common cancer type in the world.

This had already been a long road from SPK’s IPO on June 8, 2021 with a nine-month initial clock. This may not mark the end of the story as the transaction stipulates that if the deal was terminated as the result of a breach by either party, that side would owe the other a $2.2 million breakup fee.

Nonetheless, the liquidation is set to occur at the close of business on December 29, with all of SPK’s rights expiring worthless.