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Four of the five companies will be listed on the Nasdaq.
Dreamstime
One day after Coinbase’s widely anticipated public listing, the fireworks in the IPO market aren’t over.
Esports Technologie
s, one of five companies that made their debuts, soared 507%.
Applovin
(ticker: APP),
TuSimple
(TSP),
Karat Packagin
g (KRT), and Esports (EBET) opened on the Nasdaq, while
Agilon Health
(AGL) went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
All five used traditional initial public offerings, where banks underwrite the deals, to go public.
Coinbase
(COIN), the cryptocurrency exchange, used a direct listing, where the banks serve as financial advisors, to launch its stock. The shares closed Wednesday nearly 32% above the reference price for the deal.
Esports Technologies was the first to open for trading Thursday. Shares kicked off at $21, more than triple the company’s $6 offer price, and soared to a high of $37. The stock closed at $36.42, up 507%.
The strong performance came after Esports delivered the smallest deal of the day, collecting $14.4 million. Esports is also the only one of the five to both boost the size of its offering and price its stock at the top of its range. Esports had filed to sell 2 million shares at $5 to $6 each, and it ended up selling 2.4 million shares at $6. Esports provides electronic-sports wagering products and technology.
Karat Packaging, which makes disposable food service products like takeout containers and cups, saw its shares rise as much as 25%. The stock opened at $18.60, peaked at $20 and ended at $18.56, a 16% gain from its $16 offer price.
Karat delivered the solid debut after pricing its IPO below its expected range. Karat had planned to sell 3.95 million shares at $18 to $20 each; it ended up selling 3.95 million shares at $16, raising $63.2 million.
Agilon Health opened at $28.25, peaked at $31.69 and closed at $31, up nearly 35% from its offer price.
Late Wednesday, Agilon Health raised $1.07 billion after selling 46.6 million at $23, the top of its $20 to $23 price range. Founded in 2016, Agilon says it is looking to reimagine healthcare. The company partners with 1,600 doctors across 17 communities in eight states to provide care for about 210,000 seniors that are enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program.
Agilon provides the technology and resources to help primary-care physicians manage care for their patients, who are often suffering from multiple conditions, said CEO Steve Sell said. A patient may visit the emergency room, or visit multiple doctors, or have several different medications that need to be adjusted, Sell said. Agilon helps physicians identify issues that might escape other doctors who don’t have the full picture, he said. The company works with 15 insurers, including Anthem (ANTM), Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare.
“Having someone you trust to coordinate multiple specialties. It’s a gift. [Patients] are more likely to continue on the care pathway that’s laid out for them,” Sell said.
TuSimple ‘s (TSP) stock traded below its $40 offer price for much of Thursday but rallied late in the afternoon. Shares opened at $40.25, hit a high of $41.50, and closed flat at $40.
Earlier Thursday, TuSimple collected $1.35 billion after selling 33,783,783 shares at $40 each, above its $35-to-$39 price range. Launched in 2015, TuSimple is developing self-driving technology for trucks.
Applovin raised $2 billion, making it Thursday’s biggest IPO. It was also the only company of the five IPOs to fall below its offer price, making it a so-called broken deal. Applovin’s stock opened at $70, hit a high of $71.51 and dropped to close at $65.20, off 18.5% from its $80 offer price.
The company sold 25 million shares at $80 each, the midpoint of its $75-to-$85 range. Founded in 2012, Applovin provides software that mobile-game developers use to grow their businesses. The company also has a portfolio of more than 200 free-to-play mobile games with 32 million daily users.
KKR
(KKR) will own 67.4% after the IPO, according to the prospectus for the deal.
“Today’s IPO marks the start of an important and new chapter in what will be the long success story called Applovin,” said Herald Chen, president and chief financial officer. Chen is the former head of technology, media and telecom investing at KKR. He led the firm’s $400 million investment in Applovin and joined the company in 2019.
Applovin has about $2 billion in debt, Chen said. It will use some of the proceeds to pay down $400 million of a $600-million revolver, Chen said. The company will also use the proceeds to invest in its team and in acquisitions, he said. “We grew over 80% in the fourth quarter and we’re looking for assets that will continue that growth,” he said.
Write to Luisa Beltran at luisa.beltran@dowjones.com
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