Levi Strauss to Plan a 2019 IPO at a $5 Billion Valuation

​Last week, four private companies made the jump to go public, consisting of two financial companies and two healthcare companies. In total, the four companies – Eton Pharmaceuticals, Vapotherm, Weidai, and Bain Capital Specialty Finance – raised $282.9 million in financing, according to Pitchbook. Bain Capital Specialty Finance, the largest of the IPOs, raised $151.9 million in a spin-off of Bain Capital’s middle market business development division.

• Eton Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical maker, headquartered in Illinois, completed its IPO on the Nasdaq exchange, raising $21.6 million. The company focuses on developing a diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical products. Their pipeline of eight drug candidates includes a prenatal nutrition product, a pain management product, an oral liquid product for seizure control, and a muscle relaxant.

• New Hampshire-based healthcare company Vapotherm raised $56 million in its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange last week. The company is a global medical technology firm focused on the development of its Hi-VNI Technology products that are used to treat patients of all ages suffering from respiratory distress.
  

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• According to CNBC, 145-year-old blue jeans maker Levi Strauss is looking to raise $600 to $800 million in a 2019 initial public offering, aiming for a $5 billion valuation. The company had struggled with profitability in the past. However, recently, the company has been dramatically expanding its e-commerce sales and its company-branded retail stores. Levi’s went public once before in 1971, raising $50 million in one of the largest IPOs at the time.