(Bloomberg) -- Nuclear measurement and analytics company Mirion Technologies Inc. agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check company backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The deal with GS Acquisition Holdings Corp. II values the combined company at about $2.6 billion including debt, according to a statement Thursday. Mirion, which was owned by Charterhouse Capital Partners, is set to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange after the transaction closes in the second half.

Investors including Janus Henderson Group Plc, Fidelity Management & Research Co. and entities linked to BlackRock Inc. and Neuberger Berman Group LLC have agreed to participate in a $900 million private placement to support the deal. The fundraising includes a $200 million anchor investment from Goldman Sachs.

Charterhouse Capital, its co-investors and Mirion management will hold about 19% of the company after the transaction with the special purpose acquisition company. The buyout firm achieved a return of about 2.5 times on the investment. Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that GS Acquisition was nearing a deal.

“With strong free cash flow expected after interest and tax, we will have plenty of firepower for acquisitions to accelerate our growth,” Mirion Chief Executive Officer Thomas Logan, who will remain in that role, said in a statement.

Larry Kingsley, the former chief executive officer of Pall Corp. and IDEX Corp., will serve as chairman of the company.

Mirion provides devices and services for customers who work with nuclear energy -- monitoring and measuring radiation and contamination, providing alarms and managing waste, according to its website. Sector applications include nuclear power, health care, homeland security and the military.

Charterhouse hired Lazard Ltd. to revive an attempt to sell Mirion earlier this year and attracted interest from blank-check firms as well as buyout funds and companies, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

After initially gauging interest from potential buyers in 2019, Charterhouse decided to keep the asset for longer to expand the business further, according to one of the people. Since then, it’s made a number of acquisitions to expand Mirion’s footprint in the medical sector.

Mirion announced in January that it was buying Sun Nuclear Corp., which manages quality assurance for radiation treatments at cancer centers. It acquired calibration technology firm Capintec Inc. last year. In 2018, it purchased Nuclear Research & Consultancy Group’s dosimetry unit, which makes products used to measure workers’ radiation exposure.

GS Acquisition Holdings Corp. II raised $750 million in its June 2020 initial public offering to scout for a deal, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The SPAC is managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Permanent Capital Strategies team.

Blank-check companies have raised $112 billion globally this year, more than last year’s record $84 billion haul, though the pace of listings has slowed in recent months amid increased regulatory scrutiny and a flood of SPACs seeking deals.

Goldman Sachs has registered a handful of additional entities -- including GS Acquisition Holdings Corp. VIII and IX -- with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, raising the possibility it will continue to form new SPACs despite the dent in market sentiment.

(Updates with return on investment in fourth paragraph)

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