LifeStance Makes IPO Debut, Reaches Valuation of Nearly $7.9B

LifeStance Health Group (Nasdaq: LFST), which less than a month ago announced its intention to go public, officially opened for trading Thursday, closing its first day at $21.90 per share.

The debut of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based outpatient mental health provider on the Nasdaq was positive, as its stock price rose from its initial public offering (IPO) price of $18, announced Wednesday evening.

LifeStance’s first day stock performance brought its valuation up to almost $7.9 billion, according to Bloomberg News.

As part of the IPO, 40 million shares of its common stock were issued, with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Jefferies serving as LifeStance’s lead underwriters.

Founded in 2017, LifeStance is one of the nation’s largest outpatient mental health providers, offering a combination of in-person and telehealth services to adults, adolescents and children at over 370 locations across 27 states. The company employs more than 3,300 clinicians including psychiatrists, advanced practice nurses, psychologists and therapists.

For its 2020 fiscal year (FY), LifeStance recorded pro forma revenues of $377.2 million, up from $219 million in its FY 2019. The company most recently reported revenues in the 12-month period ending March 30, 2021, at $447 million.

Prior to going public, LifeStance was involved in one of the behavioral health industry’s biggest deals last year, when private equity giant TPG Capital acquired a majority interest in the company for $1.2 billion, joining existing investors Summit Partners and Silversmith Capital Partners.

Also ahead of its IPO, LifeStance this March announced that it was moving its corporate headquarters to Scottsdale, Arizona from Bellevue, Washington. Two months later, in May, the company announced it had filed for a $100 million IPO.

In a press release issued Wednesday evening, LifeStance said that the net profits from the IPO will go toward repaying outstanding debts, as well as for general corporate purposes including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures.

LifeStance stock closed at $24 per share at the end of trading Friday, up more than 9%.