Glendale-based LegalZoom.com Inc. is aiming for a valuation of more than $5 billion in the company’s second shot at going public.
Private equity-backed LegalZoom said in a revised S1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to sell 19.1 million shares in its initial public offering, with shares priced in the $24 to $27 range.
The company first filed for an IPO in 2012 but later postponed the offering and withdrew it after two years.
According to the amended filing, LegalZoom will have a value of $4.7 billion to $5.3 billion depending on the offering prices and whether underwriters fully exercise their overallotment options.
Plans call for LegalZoom to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LZ.
LegalZoom saw a huge surge in small business filings during the pandemic, taking a big share of the new business formation market last year. It was used to help form 10% of all new limited liability companies and 5% of all new corporations in the United States, according to the company’s initial filing with the SEC in May.
In addition, LegalZoom handled 25,000 trademark applications, or 6% of all registration applications in the United States last year, the filing said.
During the pandemic, LegalZoom saw revenue grow 15.2% to $471 million in 2020 from $408.4 million in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, the company’s revenue increased to $134.6 million versus $105.8 million in the same period a year ago.
The company also has $141.2 million in cash on its balance sheet.
In its June 21 filing, LegalZoom said entities affiliated with pre-IPO shareholder TCV Investments, the private equity arm of Menlo Park-based TCMI Inc., agreed to buy $90 million of stock through a private placement.
Additionally, entities affiliated with investment manager BlackRock Inc. and Neuberger Berman Group, both based in New York, have each expressed interest in buying $75 million of the IPO’s shares, according to the filing.
LegalZoom has granted underwriters the option to buy some 2.9 million extra shares for overallotments.
In total, the company expects to have about 194.1 million shares outstanding following the IPO, or roughly 196.9 million if underwriters exercise all overallotment options, according to the June 21 filing.
LegalZoom estimates that the IPO and private placement will raise $540.8 million, or $609.9 million if underwriters exercise in full their options to buy shares, at the mid-point range of $25.50.
The company plans to use proceeds to repay $523 million in debt from 2018.
