Cano Health to Go Public Via SPAC in $4.4 Billion Deal

Health-care provider Cano Health said on Thursday that it would go public by merging with Jaws Acquisition,  (JWS) - Get Report a special purpose acquisition company backed by real estate investor Barry Sternlicht, in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, including debt.

Shares of Jaws Acquisition, Miami Beach, at last check were 4.4% higher at $10.58.

At closing, the combined company will operate as Cano Health and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CANO.

Sternlicht is co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Starwood Capital Group, an investment fund with more than $60 billion of assets under management. He is also chairman of Starwood Property Trust.  (STWD) - Get Report He will serve on the new company's board.

As part of the transaction, Cano Health will receive an $800 million investment from investors including Sternlicht as well as funds related to and managed by Fidelity Management, BlackRock  (BLK) - Get Report, and the hedge funds Third Point of New York and Maverick Capital of Dallas.

Cano Health provides value-based care for more than 103,000 members through its network of 564 primary-care physicians across 14 markets in Florida, Texas, Nevada and Puerto Rico.

SPACs are also known as blank-check companies because their purpose is to write a check to buy an existing public company and merge with it. They have become a popular alternative to IPOs.

This has been a record year for SPACs, according to SPAC Insider, with $63.6 billion in gross proceeds to date. That's more than four times the $13.6 billion for SPACs in 2019 and nearly six times the $10.8 billion of 2018.

Companies such as DraftKings  (DKNG) - Get Report and Virgin Galactic Holdings  (SPCE) - Get Report have elected to go public through SPACs. 

Last month, iconic adult-entertainment brand Playboy said it planned to go public in a SPAC deal that values the company at $415 million.