MediaAlpha and Biodesix Stock Will Make Their Trading Debuts Today

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Root Insurance isn’t the only company going public Wednesday. MediaAlpha, another insurance technology company, and biotech

Biodesix

are also making their public equity markets debut.

MediaAlpha collected $175.8 million late Tuesday, after selling 9.25 million shares at $19 each, the midpoint of its $18 to $20 price range. The company is slated to begin trading later Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MAX.

JP Morgan,

Citigroup,

Credit Suisse,

and RBC Capital Markets are underwriters on the deal.

MediaAlpha is the second insurance technology firm to go public this week. Root Insurance, an insurtech that aims to disrupt the auto-insurance sector, raised $724.4 million with its initial public offering. It is expected to start trading later Wednesday.

The offerings come as the IPO market is set to go on pause next week as the nation heads into the presidential election. Voters will be picking the 46th U.S. president on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

MediaAlpha uses artificial intelligence and data science to help insurance carriers find customers online. The company provides a digital-advertising platform to draw customers to insurance carriers.

MediaAlpha is owned by

White Mountains Insurance Group

(ticker: WTM) and Insignia Capital Group. In September, MediaAlpha used a $210 million loan to refinance debt and to pay out a $105.8 million dividend to shareholders, the prospectus said. White Mountain said it would receive $110 million in proceeds from the transactions, including $55 million from the IPO, a statement said.

White Mountain will hold 35% of MediaAlpha’s voting power after the IPO, while Insignia will have 18.1%, the filing said.

Biodesix, meanwhile, collected $72 million after selling 4 million shares at $18 each, a statement said. This is down slightly from the 4.16 million shares Biodesix had planned to offer at $17 to $19 each. Biodesix is expected to begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq under the symbol BDSX.

Morgan Stanley

and William Blair are underwriters on the deal.

Biodesix is a diagnostics company that focuses on lung disease and Covid-19. The company has commercialized six diagnostic tests for use by physicians, a prospectus said. Most of Biodesix’s tests are focused on lung disease, but the company entered in multiple partnerships, including with

Bio-Rad Laboratories

(BIO), to develop tests to treat the coronavirus. Biodesix said revenue jumped because of increased demand for its Biodesix Worksafe, a return-to-work service for employers that tests for Covid-19.

Write to Luisa Beltran at [email protected]