Smart ring maker Oura has bucked a turbulent market, securing roughly four times oversubscription for its IPO, a rare bright spot in the recent US listings market.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, the underwriting banks handling the offering expect to stop taking investor orders on Monday afternoon. Oura and certain shareholders are together offering 50 million shares at a price range of $40 to $44 per share, aiming to raise up to $2.2 billion. At the top of the range, the company would be valued at $14.1 billion, or about $15 billion on a fully diluted basis including stock options and restricted stock units.
The IPO is scheduled to be priced on September 29, with the shares set to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker "OURA." Oura's strong demand stands out all the more because just days earlier, nuclear services firm Holtec Nuclear Corp. and Bamboo Insurance Services Inc., backed by CVC Capital Partners, successively postponed their IPO plans citing market conditions, casting a shadow over the US new-issue market.
Company and shareholders cash out together
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, of the 50 million shares on offer, Oura itself is selling 13.5 million shares, while the remaining 36.5 million are being sold by existing shareholders, including Forerunner Ventures and Lifeline Ventures.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Allen & Co. and Jefferies Financial Group are serving as joint lead underwriters for the offering. Oura and Goldman Sachs both declined to comment on the matter. The people familiar with the matter cautioned that discussions are still ongoing and listing details may change.
Poised to end the billion-dollar IPO drought
Based on data compiled by Bloomberg, no US IPO has raised more than $1 billion in a single deal since Jersey Mike's Subs Inc. listed in July. If Oura completes its offering, it would be the first large IPO to cross that threshold in nearly three months, a significant bellwether for a US new-issue market that has endured a quiet September.
The successive withdrawals by Holtec Nuclear Corp. and Bamboo Insurance Services Inc. have made the market more cautious in its assessment of the IPO window, and Oura's high multiple of oversubscription against the odds has helped restore some confidence.
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