Ardent Health raised $192 million in an initial public offering well below last week's target of about $300 million.
The for-profit system announced late Wednesday that it had sold 12 million shares at $16 million each, landing the company at a market valuation of roughly $2.3 billion. The stock debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday and was going for about $15.90 per share near the end of trading hours.
Ardent Health also granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase as many as 1.8 million additional shares at the IPO's $16 price.
The performance was lower than what was hoped for as Arden Health is the fourth-largest privately held, for-profit healthcare provider. Last week it floated a target of 14.3 million shares priced between $20 and $22 and a market valuation of just over $3 billion.
At the time, Ardent said it planned to use the proceeds "for working capital, to acquire complementary businesses, products, services or technologies and for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of debt and capital expenditures."
The company reported $5.4 billion in total revenue and $129 million of net income in 2023. It runs 30 acute care hospitals in six states, with 18 of those hospitals operated under joint ventures with other healthcare providers. It is majority owned by an affiliate of Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments.
July 9
Ardent Health IPO targets $3B market valuation, $300M raise
For-profit system Ardent Health said it’s planning to sell 14.3 million shares priced between $20 and $22 each in its upcoming initial public offering, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday.
The targeted offering would bring in $300.3 million at the midpoint of the price range, which Ardent said would bring an estimated $274.3 million of net proceeds. It also places the company at a market valuation of just over $3 billion.
Ardent wrote in the regulatory filing that it plans to use the IPO’s proceeds “for working capital, to acquire complementary businesses, products, services or technologies and for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of debt and capital expenditures.” The company said it does not currently have any such material acquisitions in motion.
Ardent describes itself in the filing as the country’s fourth-largest privately held, for-profit healthcare provider by hospital count. As of March 31, its six-state footprint included 30 acute care hospitals, over 200 sites of care and more than 1,700 employed or affiliated providers that provided care to over 15,000 people per day.
The company had filed for a $100 million IPO raise back in December 2018 but nixed those plans in early 2020.
Across 2023, Ardent reported $5.4 billion of total revenue, $129 million of net income, 1.2 million unique patients and 5.4 million visits. It logged $1.4 billion of total revenue and $45.9 million in net income in the first quarter of 2024 and, for the quarter ended June 30, estimates just under $1.5 billion of total revenue and $61.1 million to $67.7 million of net income.
The system’s filing highlights the company’s “well-established and differentiated” joint venture model in which it partners with major nonprofit systems or academic medical centers such as UT Health East Texas and Hackensack Meridian Medical Centers. Eighteen of the company’s 30 acute care hospitals are operated under these joint ventures that, in 2023, brought in $1.6 billion of revenue and $213.7 million of net income.
Following the IPO, Ardent will remain majority owned (53.6%) by an affiliate of Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments. Other institutional stakeholders will include an affiliated entity of United Arab Emirates-based Pure Health Holding PJSC (21%) and a subsidiary of Ventas Inc. (6.5%).
The company is listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARDT."