Alyssa Rapp
A Chicago-based SPAC looking for healthcare deal raised $250 million.
Healthwell Acquisition is led by healthcare executive Alyssa Rapp, who previously led private equity-backed Surgical Solutions and teaches at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Healthwell's board includes former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner and former Deloitte senior executive Carl Allegretti. Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, a top U of C cancer researcher, is an adviser.
Healthwell is a special-purpose acquisition company, or blank-check firm, that’s raising money from investors on the public markets to acquire one or more businesses in healthcare technology, tech-enabled healthcare services and tech-enabled wellness that have yet to be identified.
SPACs have exploded in popularity in the past two years amid a glut of capital. This year 389 SPAC offerings have been completed, raising $117.3 billion, compared with 248 deals worth $83.4 billion in all of 2020, according to SPACInsider. Nine deals were completed last week, the most since early June, showing a resurgence in investor appetite for SPACs.
Radcliffe Capital Management, a hedge fund based in suburban Philadelphia that frequently invests in SPACs, owns nearly 10 percent of Healthwell, according to securities filings.
This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's Chicago Business.
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