The IPO Buzz: UL Solutions & PACS Group On the Marquee in a $1.2B Week

Household name UL Solutions Inc. (ULS Proposed) and nursing home operator PACS Group (PACS Proposed) share the IPO marquee this week with plans to raise a combined $1.2 billion. Both are New York Stock Exchange listings. Both are profitable companies whose IPOs are set to price this week. These two big IPOs are part of the IPO market’s revival that ramped up in March with the  Astera Labs (ALAB) and Reddit (RDDT) IPOs, as Bloomberg reported. Early today, digital ad promotions and rewards company Ibotta Inc. (IBTA Proposed) unveiled the terms of its $450.0 million IPO and launched the deal to price next week. UL Solutions’ IPO is generating some buzz this week. In contrast, PACS Group’s IPO is a healthcare play that’s attracting interest – but not at the same level as UL Solutions’ deal. Iconic Electrical Safety Brand The initials “UL”  in UL Solutions’ name stands for Underwriters Laboratories, which began testing electrical products for fire risks during the 1894 World’s Fair in Chicago.  “It’s a household name. It’s literally in everyone’s household,” a veteran IPO player says, citing the big brand behind the UL Solutions’ IPO. The UL Solutions’ IPO is big: 28.0 million shares at a price range of $26.00 to $29.00 to raise $770.0 million, if priced at the $27.50 mid-point. The market cap is estimated at about $5.5 billion, based on mid-point pricing. UL Solutions’ IPO is set for pricing on Thursday night, April 11, to trade Friday, April 12, on the NYSE. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are leading the joint book-runners’ team, which includes BofA Securities, Citigroup, Jefferies and UBS Investment Bank. UL Solutions, based in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, provides independent testing, inspection and certification (“TIC”) services and related software and advisory offerings. The company says it served more than 80,000 customers in over 110 countries in 2022. “We are the owner of the iconic UL-in-a-circle certification mark (“UL Mark”) that appears on billions of products around the world,” UL Solutions says in the prospectus. “We offer our customers global market access services that help them ensure the safety and quality of their products while also supporting their efforts to manage the broader risks they face throughout their product lifecycle processes. We believe our extensive knowledge of, and expertise in, global safety science provides us with a strong competitive advantage relative to other global TIC service providers.” An Aging Boomers’ Play The PACS Group IPO benefits from the demographic trend – the aging of the Baby Boomers, who were born in the years from 1946 through 1964.  PACS Group (PACS Proposed), the operator of skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities in nine states, is set to price its IPO on Wednesday night, April 10, 2024, to trade Thursday, April 11, on the NYSE. The PACS Group IPO is large: 19.05 million shares at a price range of $20.00 to $22.00 to raise $400.1 million, if the deal is priced at the $21.00 mid-point. The market cap is estimated at $3.1 billion. Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Truist Securities and RBC Capital Markets are the joint book-runners. PACS Group, based in Farmington, Utah, describes itself as “a leading post-acute healthcare company primarily focused on delivering high-quality skilled nursing care through a portfolio of independently operated facilities,” the prospectus says. “Founded in 2013, we are one of the largest skilled nursing providers in the United States based on number of facilities, with over 200 post-acute care facilities across nine states serving over 20,000 patients daily. We also provide senior care, assisted living, and independent living options in some of our communities.” (For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.) Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board. To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message. Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions. Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums) is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions of anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute changes due to market conditions, changes in a specific offering and other factors, such as changes in the proposed offering terms and the shifting of investor interest in the IPO. The information offered is taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.