Talkspace investor Firstime Ventures is calling for the virtual behavioral health company to name a permanent CEO and release a proactive strategic plan.
This comes as Talkspace continues to struggle on the public market. The stock was valued at roughly $9 per share when it went public through a $1.4 billion SPAC in 2021. It is now valued at about $1 per share.
The investment firm, which owns roughly 5% of the company, sent a letter to Talkspace asking for clarity on the company’s future plans, according to Seeking Alpha, which first reported the story.
“Firstime is troubled by reports that have been brought to its attention to the effect that management may have declined to consider multiple approaches by various parties interested in discussing the purchase of Talkspace,” Firstime’s legal team wrote in a letter to Talkspace’s Interim CEO Doug Braunstein.
The Talkspace leadership team has gone through a number of changes over the last year. The company’s former CEO and co-founder Oren Frank stepped down from the role nearly a year ago following a poor financial showing in the third quarter of 2021. At that time Roni Rank, the co-founder and head of clinical services, also resigned.
Last November the company’s chief operating officer Mark Hirschhorn resigned after “an internal review of Mr. Hirschhorn’s conduct in connection with a company offsite that took place late last week.”
The company continues to face economic headwinds. In Q2 of 2022, the company’s revenue declined by 4% year-over-year to $29.8 million. While it saw growth in its business-to-business revenue, the increase did not offset its direct-to-consumer business losses.
In June Seeking Alpha reported that Amwell (NYSE: AMWL) offered Talkspace a takeover deal. According to the report, Talkspace rejected Amwell’s offer before financials were discussed.
That may not have been Talkspace’s first offer. In May Axios reported that mental health clinic operator Mindpath Health had made a takeover bid, which did not materialize.
Behavioral Health Business has reached out to Talkspace and Firstime Ventures for this story but has not heard back in time for publication.
Companies featured in this article:
