Bolt Biotherapeutics Acquires Prana Therapies in Reverse Merger, Raises $120 Million in Private Placement

Bolt Biotherapeutics Inc. (BOLT) announced Friday it acquired Prana Therapies Inc. in a stock-for-stock reverse merger and secured $120 million in gross proceeds through a concurrent private placement. Bolt shares closed at $4.19 on the Nasdaq. Prana equity holders received 430,746 Bolt common shares and 16,360.929 shares of Series D non-voting convertible preferred stock at a fixed exchange ratio. The private placement involves 13,995.311 Series D preferred shares plus warrants for up to 6,997,655 common shares, which could add $60 million if exercised. Bolt said the proceeds should fund operations into 2028 and support anticipated clinical and preclinical milestones. The deal targets Prana's pipeline of half-life-extended multispecific antibodies built on its INSPIRE platform. Prana co-founder and former CEO Sheila Gujrathi, M.D., was named Bolt's chief strategy officer and joined its board upon closing.