Mednow Inc., a Vancouver-based telemedicine company will begin trading on the TSX Venture Exchange next Tuesday, joining a wave of technology companies in the health care space that have taken to the public markets since the pandemic began.
A media release by the company indicated that Mednow could raise approximately $37-million through the initial public offering, priced at $6.75. The net proceeds will be used by the company to further develop its technology and make acquisitions. Mednow will trade on the TSX-V under the ticker MNOW.
At the IPO price of $6.75, Mednow would be valued at approximately $130-million.
Mednow is essentially a virtual pharmacy, offering patients access to pharmacy services via a web-based app or website. Patients also get to consult with doctors virtually, and their medical prescriptions will be filled by Mednow, which also guarantees same-day or next-day delivery to the patient.
While the company is not a licensed pharmacy itself, it has relationships with two licensed pharmacies in Ontario and British Columbia – Mednow East and Mednow West. For that reason, it operates only in those two provinces currently.
“In the near-term, we will be adding fulfillment centres across the country with the goal of achieving national coverage across Canada, we will be investing in a proprietary telemedicine service and we will continue to invest in our technological platform to maximize the user experience,” chief executive officer Karim Nassar said.
A copy of a company presentation to investors in late January and obtained by The Globe and Mail shows the company had, at the time, targeted a $10-million raise from its IPO. But a slew of successful IPOs of telemedicine companies, such as Toronto-based online mental-health provider MindBeacon Holdings Inc., heightened investor interest in Mednow’s stock, pushing up the value of its IPO, the sources said.
Last week, The Globe reported that Montreal telemedicine company Dialogue Technologies Inc. was planning to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Mednow’s pre-IPO prospectus shows that it generated revenue of $41,400 for the three months ended Oct. 31, incurring a net loss of $509,097. Like a traditional pharmacy, the company’s revenue is derived primarily from the fees it collects when dispensing drugs. Last July, Mednow raised $6.5-million in a seed round led by Gravitas Securities Inc.
As of the end of October, 2020, the company still had $3.3-million in cash, the prospectus shows.
Mr. Nassar told several media outlets last November that he believed the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing had amplified the need for a pharmacy that would come to its patients.
Gravitas Securities, Eight Capital and Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. are co-leads of the IPO, with Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Raymond James Ltd. rounding out the syndicate. The underwriters will receive an 8-per-cent fee of the gross proceeds of the raise.
Editor’s note: The online version of this story has been updated to reflect a change in timing of Mednow’s listing on the TSX Venture Exchange.
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