BOSTON, Sept. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo
Bioworks, Inc. ("Ginkgo") and Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp.
(Nasdaq: SRNG) ("Soaring Eagle"), a special purpose acquisition
company, today announced the closing of their previously announced
business combination. The combined company is named Ginkgo Bioworks
Holdings, Inc., and the combined company's shares of Class A common
stock and public warrants will begin trading today on the New York
Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols "DNA" and "DNA.WS"
respectively. The business combination was approved at a special
meeting of Soaring Eagle stockholders on September 14, 2021.
Ginkgo launched in 2008 with the mission to make biology easier
to engineer. Much like computer programming impacted every
information-based industry through the ability to program the flow
of data, cell programming has the potential to impact every
physical goods industry through the ability to program the flow of
atoms. Ginkgo's platform leverages advanced robotic automation,
proprietary software, and data analytics to continuously improve
the technology ("Foundry") as well as the knowledge and re-usable
biological assets ("Codebase") required to engineer biology. Today,
companies across industries use Ginkgo's cell programming platform
to find more effective, environmentally friendly ways to create
products including food ingredients, fragrances, cosmetics,
medicines, and more. By enabling the design of organisms that can
produce valuable biological products, Ginkgo helps accelerate the
development of innovative, bio-based solutions to the world's most
pressing challenges.
"For nearly two decades, my co-founders and I have been on a
mission to make programming cells as easy as programming
computers," said Jason Kelly, CEO
and co-founder at Ginkgo. "Today marks an important milestone not
only for the team at Ginkgo, but for synthetic biology as a whole,
and I am thrilled to work with our team, partners and investors as
we continue scaling our platform to solve even bigger problems with
biology."
In addition to Kelly, Ginkgo Bioworks will continue to be led by
its founding team, including President/COO Reshma Shetty, Chief Technology Officer
Barry Canton, Head of Strategy
Austin Che, and the "godfather of synthetic biology," DNA Hacker
Tom Knight. Additionally, alongside Jason
Kelly and Reshma Shetty, the
board will welcome incoming directors Harry
Sloan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Soaring Eagle
Acquisition Corp., Dr. Arie Belldegrun, MD, FACS, Executive
Chairman and Co-Founder of Allogene Therapeutics, and Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., FASN, Chief Executive
Officer and President at Vertex.
"Eagle Equity Partners has been exceptionally proud to sponsor
Ginkgo's entry into the public market. Jason, his co-founders and
team are using the tools of engineering and computing to reprogram
biology, and are committed to solving some of the world's most
pressing problems," said Harry
Sloan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Soaring Eagle
Acquisition Corp. "I look forward to supporting Ginkgo's ongoing
growth as a Board Member as they continue delivering on their great
promise."
The transaction provides total proceeds of over $1.6 billion and values Ginkgo at a $15 billion enterprise value. The largest
investors include ARK Investment Management, Baillie Gifford,
Putnam Investments, funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint
Global (Morgan Stanley Investment Management), and Franklin
Advisers. The proceeds are expected to fund the expansion of
Ginkgo's cell programming platform.
To celebrate the completion of the business combination, Ginkgo
will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at
9:30 am ET on September 17, 2021. A live stream of the event
and replay can be accessed by
visiting https://www.nyse.com/bell.
Advisors
Allen & Company LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted
as financial advisors, and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal
advisor to Ginkgo. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as
legal advisor to Ginkgo with respect to certain corporate
governance matters. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial
advisor and White & Case LLP acted as legal advisor to Soaring
Eagle. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC,
and Allen & Company LLC served as placement agents for Soaring
Eagle on the PIPE transaction. BofA Securities, Cowen and Company
LLC, William Blair & Company,
Piper Sandler & Co.,
Raymond James, and BTIG, LLC also
acted as financial advisors.
About Ginkgo
Ginkgo is building a platform to enable customers to program
cells as easily as we can program computers. The company's platform
is enabling biotechnology applications across diverse markets, from
food and agriculture to industrial chemicals to pharmaceuticals.
Ginkgo has also actively supported a number of COVID-19 response
efforts, including K-12 pooled testing, vaccine manufacturing
optimization and therapeutics discovery. For more information,
visit www.ginkgobioworks.com.
About Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp.
Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp. is a special purpose acquisition
company founded by Harry E. Sloan,
Jeff Sagansky, and Eli Baker for the purpose of effecting a merger,
capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase,
reorganization or similar business combination with one or more
businesses.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to
the transaction between Ginkgo and Soaring Eagle, including
statements regarding the benefits of the transaction, the services
offered by Ginkgo and the markets in which it operates, and
Ginkgo's projected future results. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by the words "believe," "project,"
"potential," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend,"
"strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should,"
"will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result,"
and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are
predictions, projections and other statements about future events
that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a
result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this document, including but not
limited to: (i) the effect of the transaction on Ginkgo's business
relationships, performance, and business generally, (ii) risks that
the business combination disrupts current plans of Ginkgo and
potential difficulties in Ginkgo's employee retention, (iii) the
outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against
Ginkgo or against Soaring Eagle related to the business
combination, (iv) volatility in the price of Ginkgo Bioworks
Holdings, Inc.'s securities now that it is a public company due to
a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and
highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo plans to operate,
variations in performance across competitors, changes in laws and
regulations affecting Ginkgo's business and changes in the combined
capital structure, (v) the ability to implement business plans,
forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the
business combination, and identify and realize additional
opportunities, and (vi) the risk of downturns in demand for
products using synthetic biology. The foregoing list of factors is
not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors
and the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk
Factors" section of Soaring Eagle's registration statement on Form
S-4 and other documents filed by Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc.
from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address
other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
events and results to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo and
Soaring Eagle assume no obligation and do not intend to update or
revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise. Neither Ginkgo nor
Soaring Eagle gives any assurance that either Ginkgo or Soaring
Eagle will achieve its expectations.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
INVESTOR CONTACTS:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks
