The U.S. IPO Market is Set for Another $1 Billion Week With Brightspring in the Pipeline

The U.S. initial public offering (IPO) market is showing signs of increased activity after a prolonged lull, with an anticipated busy week featuring deals worth at least $1 billion. Leading the pack is healthcare-services provider BrightSpring Health Services Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., which aims to raise up to $959.4 million by offering 53.3 million shares at a price range of $15 to $18 each. This move is backed by KKR & Co., giving BrightSpring a valuation of $3.1 billion. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker BTSG, with Goldman Sachs heading a team of 15 banks working on the offering.

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BrightSpring's focus is on patients with complex health needs, serving senior and specialty patients through a network of 10,000 clinical providers and pharmacists. Despite a 15.3% increase in revenue to $7.7 billion in 2022, the company reported a loss of $53.9 million, a notable shift from the $49.8 million net income in 2021.

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Additionally, immunotherapy company CG Oncology is expected to enter the market with a deal that could raise up to $212 million, valuing the company at about $970 million. CG Oncology, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical firm, specializes in developing bladder-cancer drugs, including its lead product candidate, cretostimogene.

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A positive sign for the IPO market comes with the announcement of terms for a substantial deal by Finnish sports-brand owner Amer Sports. The company plans to offer 100 million shares at a price range of $16 to $18 each, aiming to raise up to $1.8 billion and achieve a valuation of $8.7 billion. Amer Sports, with brands such as Arc’teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance, and Atomic, reported revenue of $3.55 billion in 2022, marking an increase from $2.4 billion in 2020. The company, acquired by a Chinese consortium in 2019 for approximately $5 billion, had a net loss of $252.7 million, up from $237.2 million in the same period.

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ArriVent Biopharma Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in cancer treatments, also set terms for its IPO. The company plans to offer 8.3 million shares at a price range of $17 to $19 each, aiming to raise up to $157.7 million and achieve a valuation of about $581 million.

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Looking ahead, reports suggest that social-media platform Reddit is considering an IPO in March, with an estimated valuation of $10 billion. Last week, London-listed Kaspi.kz, a Kazakh financial-technology company, raised $1 billion in a U.S. IPO, marking the second IPO by a Kazakh company after Freedom Holding in 2019. Kaspi.kz, valued at $17.4 billion, is the third-largest company to go public in over two years. The company, parent to the Kaspi.kz Super App offering various financial services, is profitable and already lists its stock on the London Stock Exchange.

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Kaspi.kz reported net income of $1.3 billion in the first nine months of 2023, up from about $876 million in the same period the previous year. Revenue also increased to $2.8 billion from approximately $1.9 billion in the year-earlier period, surpassing the $2.7 billion generated in all of 2022. The Renaissance IPO ETF has shown strong performance, gaining 27.6% in the last 12 months, compared to the S&P 500's 21.8% gain during the same period.

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