Graf Acquisition Corp. IV (GFOR) Adds $10M in Note Funding to NKGen Biotech Deal

Graf Acquisition Corp. IV (NYSE:GFOR) announced in an 8-K this morning that it has added $10 million in convertible note funding to its combination with NKGen Biotech.

NKGen’s majority shareholder NKMax (KOSDAQ:182400) has put up the cash for the move and in exchange the notes are to bear interest payable at either a 5% rate in cash or 8% in stock. They will mature in 2027 on the agreement’s fourth anniversary and can be exercised for 1,000,000 shares at $11.50 per share.

This new funding comes as Graf IV has postponed its completion vote with NKGen three times as it engages with shareholders and tries to hit its $50 million minimum cash condition.

Its shareholders are currently set to reconvene at 10 am ET, September 20 and it has until September 25 to complete a deal.

Graf IV went into this string of meetings with about $62.2 million in trust and NKMax had already committed to a backstop of up to $25 million. According to the filing, the SPAC plans to continue to seek out additional funds to bring the deal to a close.

The $160 million combination was initially announced in April of this year. Santa Ana, California-based NKGen has five pharmaceutical formulas that have each reached some stage of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials seeking potential therapies for cancer and neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.