Kenes Rakishev Expands Business Portfolio Through SPAC Acquisition of Borealis Foods

Borealis Foods Inc. operates in the segment of innovative food technologies. This company, for example, has created ramen, which is both organic, vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher, vegetable, egg- and dairy-free, GMO-free, monosodium glutamate-free and contains 20 grams of protein per serving. The packaging of this ramen is recyclable. The daughter of Borealis Foods, Palmetto Gourmet Foods, Inc., produces 600 million servings of ready-to-eat ramen per year, which are sold in the USA, Canada and should soon appear in Europe. Let’s add that the capacity of the global ramen market is $40 billion.

Borealis Foods Inc. and the Oxus SPAC company

Oxus Acquisition Corp. created by Kenes Rakishev. At the end of February, a final agreement on business unification was signed. The new merged company will continue to be called Borealis Foods Inc. It is assumed that after the closing of the transaction, this company will be headed by Borealis CEO and co-founder Reza Soltanzadeh, as well as Chairman and co-founder Barthelemy Helg. The boards of directors of Borealis and Oxus unanimously approved the proposed deal worth $150 million.

«We are excited about the next phase of Borealis and our collaboration with Oxus in our shared vision to make healthy and environmentally friendly food accessible to everyone. By entering into a business combination deal with Oxus, we will be able to fully realize our mission of developing food technology solutions to solve global food-related problems. This new company represents a significant step forward for us» – Borealis CEO Reza Soltanzade.

«We have evaluated many potential candidates and believe that we have found an excellent partner in Borealis as a leading platform in the field of food technology and Palmetto as their first successful application of such an innovation on a commercial scale. We believe that Borealis has unique opportunities for revolutionary changes in the global food industry» – CEO of Oxus Acquisition Corp. Kanat Mynzhanov.

Oxus Acquisition Corp., created by Kazakh businessman Kenes Rakishev, went public on NASDAQ in September 2021 as a SPAC company. Recall that SPACs are made specifically for a merger in the future with another private company that wants to enter the stock exchange, but does not undergo all the necessary procedures for an IPO.

Declaring its intention to choose a company that deals with technologies in the field of energy transfer for the merger within a year and a half (although it was stipulated that other options were possible), Oxus Acquisition Corp. raised $172.5 million on the IPO. By March 8, 2023, the company had to choose a business to merge and make a deal. But at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders, the company’s charter was amended, and a new date — until which Oxus Acquisition Corp. The merger of the business is due to be completed on December 8, 2023.

The deal with Borealis is scheduled to be closed in the third quarter of 2023.