aibioHelix Acquisition Corp. II (now BridgeBio Oncology) keeps $120 million in trust
Tickers BBOT
Helix says about $120 million remains in trust after redemptions, and that a $261 million private placement led by Cormorant Asset Management would bring the merger with BBOT to about $382 million gross.
Key facts
- Company
- BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBOT)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, Inc. 8-K (2025-08-06)
Helix Acquisition Corp. II (Nasdaq: HLXB), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by affiliates of Cormorant Asset Management, said on August 6, 2025 that it retained approximately $120 million in its trust account after redemptions by public shareholders. The release says that is more than 60% of the cash held in trust. The deadline for redemption requests was July 31, 2025.
Helix is merging with TheRas, Inc., which does business as BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics (BBOT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule therapeutics for RAS and PI3Kα malignancies. The release says the transaction is expected to bring an aggregate of approximately $382 million in gross proceeds. That includes the $120 million from the trust and approximately $261 million from a common stock private placement, known as a PIPE.
Who is putting in the money
Cormorant Asset Management led the PIPE. The release names other participants: ADAR1 Capital Management, BC Capital, investment funds affiliated with Deerfield Management Company, Enavate Sciences, Eventide Asset Management, Novo Holdings A/S, Octagon Capital, Omega Funds, Paradigm BioCapital Advisors, StemPoint Capital LP, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Wellington Management, along with another leading mutual fund that the release does not name.
The release names no placement agent, financial adviser or counsel for the PIPE or the merger. The annual report refers to "the IPO underwriter" in describing the 2024 offering, without naming it in that passage. It says Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acts as trustee for the trust account.
The trust and the redemptions
Helix was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on June 15, 2021. It sold 18,400,000 Class A ordinary shares at $10.00 each in its initial public offering, including 2,400,000 shares from the underwriter's over-allotment option, for gross proceeds of $184,000,000. The sponsor bought 509,000 private placement shares at $10.00 each, for $5,090,000. Cormorant funds bought 2,400,000 Class A shares in the offering at the offering price.
The release gives the offering date as February 9, 2024, while the annual report says the offering was consummated on February 13, 2024.
The release says the redemption rate ranks 2nd lowest for a biotech de-SPAC transaction since 2022. It names no other transactions in that comparison, so the ranking cannot be checked from the release.
The 2024 annual report describes the trust as holding funds in U.S. government securities or money market funds. Funds may be released from the trust only at specified events, such as completion of a business combination or redemption, and interest may be released for taxes and up to $100,000 of dissolution expenses. The release does not discuss how the trust's cash will be used at closing.
What is still open
The release says the companies intend to proceed expeditiously with closing, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions. Its forward-looking statements name the minimum cash condition as one of the factors that could affect the deal, but the release does not state the minimum amount. They also name the combined company's ability to meet Nasdaq's initial listing standards.
Two gaps matter for the money. The $382 million is a gross figure, and the release gives no fees, expenses or net proceeds. It also gives no price or share count for the PIPE.
What the release settles is how much trust cash remains. What it leaves open is whether the combined company meets the minimum cash condition and Nasdaq's listing standards.