Life insurance epigenetics insurtech Foxo plans to go public via SPAC

Foxo Technologies Inc., whose artificial intelligence and genetics technology is used to underwrite life insurance, is going public through a deal with a blank-check company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The merger with Delwinds Insurance Acquisition Corp. will value the combined company at $369 million, said the people, who asked to not be identified as the details are private.

Delwinds, part of the wave of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, that surged with the Covid-19 pandemic, raised $201 million in an initial public offering in 2020. The transaction comes as merger deals between SPACs and target companies are subsiding.

The transaction is expected to raise as much as $224 million, including the $201 million from Delwinds’ IPO. In addition, institutional investors and the Gray Insurance Co. will contribute at least $22.5 million through a convertible debt offering, the people said.

Proceeds from the transaction will help fund Foxo’s launch of a direct-to-consumer life insurance service this year, they said. The company’s products use saliva tests to detect markers in the body that can provide clues about life expectancy. Foxo says its tests are an easier, less-invasive alternative to those based on blood or urine samples.

Once the transaction closes, the combined company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “FOXO,” the people said.