Oura IPO to Raise Up to $2.2 Billion, but Most Proceeds Go to Shareholders

Smart ring maker Oura is looking to raise as much as $2.2 billion in its upcoming IPO, but it looks like its current investors will be the ones making money in the process.

According to the company’s updated IPO filing, Oura and its shareholders are together offering 50 million shares at a price range of $40 to $44 each. But most of the IPO’s proceeds will go to shareholders, who are offering 36.5 million shares, or almost two-thirds of the total.

If the company lists at $42 per share, the midpoint of the price range, that would result in proceeds of about $1.53 billion for the shareholders and $567 million for the company, before fees and expenses.

The bulk of that will go to Forerunner Ventures, the company’s second-largest shareholder. The venture firm plans to sell its entire 9.3% stake of about 28.7 million shares for about $1.20 billion (assuming the shares list at $42) before underwriting fees and taxes. Forerunner’s shares account for nearly 80% of the shares being sold by existing shareholders in the deal.

Forerunner first invested in Oura in the company’s 2020 $28 million Series B round, according to PitchBook.

Meanwhile, Oura doesn’t look to be treating this IPO as a fundraising event. At the $42 midpoint, the company expects net proceeds of $532.6 million, and plans to use about $526.4 million to pay off accumulated tax obligations related to employee share grants that will vest at the time of the IPO.

That would leave the company with roughly $6.2 million for general corporate purposes, according to the filing.

In a way, this is kind of a flex by Oura, which is essentially using this IPO to give its early backers an exit. It’s also fulfilling tax obligations without turning to debt, as companies sometimes do, or touching its cash, which sat at about $372 million at the end of June.

The offering comes as Oura is growing quickly, with subscriptions becoming a larger source of revenue. The membership business is seemingly a very profitable endeavor for Oura, with an 89% gross margin. Membership revenue more than doubled to $240.5 million in the period, accounting for about 20% of the company’s sales. Hardware still made up most of the company’s revenue, at $974 million.

Oura now expects to finish the fiscal year ending September 30 with about 5.7 million paying members, which would nearly double the number from a year earlier.

Oura could end up with a market cap of $14.1 billion if it lists at the top of the proposed price range.