Healthcare payments tech firm Waystar confidentially files for US IPO

(Reuters) - Healthcare payments tech firm Waystar Technologies said on Thursday its parent company had confidentially filed for an initial public offering, taking the first step towards a stock market listing that could value it at up to $8 billion.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of the IPO filing by chip designer Arm Holdings, which is expected to be one of the marquee listings of 2023.

It also underscores a resurgence in new listings after the IPO market was decimated by high interest rates and fears of a recession in 2022.

Excluding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), $10.3 billion has been raised via 77 IPOs so far this year, nearly double the amount fetched in the same period in 2022, according to data from Dealogic.

Earlier this week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Waystar had tapped banks for an IPO that could give it a valuation of up to $8 billion, including debt.

In a private funding round in 2019, the company was valued at $2.7 billion when buyout firm EQT AB and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) bought a majority stake from Bain Capital, which remains a minority shareholder.

Waystar was formed in 2017 through the merger of Navicure and ZirMed. It makes software that helps hospitals and healthcare firms manage their finances.

It has solidified its position in the healthcare payments industry by acquiring some of its rivals, including eSolutions in 2020 which boosted its presence in the lucrative government health insurance market for the elderly, known as Medicare.

Earlier this month, it bought financial engagement platform HealthPay24, marking its eighth acquisition in the last five years.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)