KKR-backed BrightSpring targets $3 billion valuation for long-awaited US IPO

(Reuters) -KKR-backed BrightSpring Health Services set a target of an around $3.01 billion valuation on Wednesday for its long-awaited initial public offering in the United States.

The company, which caters to patients facing complex or chronic medical conditions, is moving towards a listing after previously pursuing it in 2021.

But hostile market conditions due to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy tightening squeezed new listings, forcing BrightSpring to finally abort in Nov. 2022.

However, positive market sentiment in 2023, spurred recently by hopes of a rate cut by the Fed in the next few months, has encouraged more startups to begin listing procedures again.

Social media firm Reddit, cloud security company Rubrik and software startup ServiceTitan are also expected to go public in 2024. In the healthcare sector, Moderna-backed Metagenomi is also gearing up for a listing.

BrightSpring said it would sell 53.3 million shares at a price between $15 and $18 each, to raise up to $960 million. Most of the proceeds will be used to pay down debt.

Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Morgan Stanley are among more than a dozen underwriters managing the IPO. The company has applied to list on Nasdaq under the symbol “BTSG”.

BrightSpring was sold to private equity giant KKR in a $1.32 billion deal in 2019, with an affiliate of drugstore chain operator Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:) taking a minority stake.

The company provides home health, rehab and hospice care to the patients it caters to, who often require frequent services over long periods of time. It also has 180 pharmacies across the country.

Publicly-listed competitors include Amedisys (NASDAQ:) Encompass Health (NYSE:) Corp and Addus HomeCare Corp.

The stock performance of BrightSpring’s rivals has been mixed so far this month. Amedisys shares inched up 0.04%, while Encompass’ stock gained 7%.

Addus HomeCare, on the other hand, fell nearly 4%.