At the end of February 2023, Borealis Foods Inc. and Oxus Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company controlled by Kazakhstani businessman Kenes Rakishev, announced the signing of a definitive business combination agreement. This is expected to result in a newly-combined company under the name Borealis Foods Inc. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, the company will continue to be led by Borealis’ CEO and co-founder Reza Soltanzadeh, and chairman and co-Founder Barthelemy Helg. The boards of directors of Borealis and Oxus have each unanimously approved the proposed $150 million transaction.
Borealis is a food technology company that has created ramen meals that are organic, vegan, vegetarian, Halal, Kosher, plant-based, egg and dairy free, non-GMO, MSG free, and TBHQ free, and are manufactured with recyclable packaging. The company’s subsidiary Palmetto Gourmet Foods, Inc. has an annual capacity to produce 600 million ready-to-eat ramen meals, sold in the US, Canada and soon Europe. The ramen category represents an estimated $40 billion market.
«We are thrilled about the next stage of Borealis and our alignment with Oxus on our shared vision of making healthy and sustainable food accessible to all. By combining with Oxus, we can fully realize our mission of developing food technology solutions to address global food challenges. This new company represents a significant step forward for us,» said Reza Soltanzadeh, CEO of Borealis.
In turn, Kanat Mynzhanov, CEO of Oxus said that his team has been working hard to find an optimal partner to join us in this quest. «We have evaluated many potential candidates and we believe that we have found an excellent partner in Borealis, as a leading platform in food tech, and Palmetto as their first successful application of such innovation on a commercial scale. We believe Borealis is uniquely positioned to revolutionize the global basic food industry,» he stated.
Oxus Acquisition Corp. is controlled by Kazakhstani businessman Kenes Rakishev. In September 2021, the company completed an initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ. Oxus is a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) designed to raise capital through IPO for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company.
At the time, the company announced its intention to pursue an initial business combination with any target business linked with energy transition technologies. With the help of the IPO, Oxus raised $172.5 million. The company was supposed to find a target company and close a deal with it before March 8, 2023. However, Oxus shareholders have agreed to reschedule the deadline to December 8, 2023.
The deal with Borealis is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2023.
