Pono Capital (NASDAQ:PONO) announced this afternoon that it has mutually terminated its combination with cannabinoid drug developer Benuvia.
While today’s press release did not provide much detail, Pono Capital intends to continue its search for a target for its business combination and extended its transaction timeline today by three months. The SPAC originally had a deadline of August 13, 2022, but will now have until November 11, 2022 to find a new target and close.
Pono raised $100 million at IPO on August 11, 2021 and initially set out to combine with a disruptive technology company in China or Japan in the area of consumer electronics. The tech-focused SPAC is led by CEO and Founder Dustin Shindo, Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Hank Wuh and CFO Trisha Nomura.
CEO and Founder Dustin Shindo is also Chairman of Pono Capital Two (NASDAQ:PTWOU), one of six SPACs that filed to IPO in June. Pono Capital Two priced its $100 million IPO just last week on August 4, and intends to also focus on disruptive tech targets in Japan.
The termination comes several months after the $440 million deal announcement, which was originally announced on March 18. Pono’s deal with Benuvia was not supplemented with a PIPE and did not have a minimum cash closing condition. The Arizona-based company owns an FDA approved cannabinoid drug SYNDROS (dronabinol oral solution CII), and synthetic cannabinoid manufacturing facilities in the U.S.
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