Telehealth startup Dialogue has officially filed to be public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) amid the increasing trend of Canadian tech companies, and notably healthtech startups, turning to public markets.
Montréal-based Dialogue filed its preliminary long-form prospectus on Monday for a proposed initial public offering (IPO). UPDATE 10/03/2021: Today, Dialogue has set a target of $100 million for its IPO and hopes to issue between 8.33 million and 11.11 million shares at a targeted price of between $9 and $12 per share.
Dialogue was founded in 2016 and incubated in Diagram Ventures. It offers a telemedicine solution targeted to employers, with services to access front-line healthcare providers through its virtual care platform.
It was first reported by The Globe and Mail last month that Dialogue was planning to list in the Toronto exchange. Dialogue joins a number of Canadian tech companies that have turned their eyes to the public market over the past year, looking to take advantage of interest in virtual offerings amid COVID-19. In the healthtech space, Toronto-based digital mental health treatment startup MindBeacon went public in December, pulling in gross proceeds of $65 million.
RELATED: Dialogue expands beyond telemedicine with new Employee Assistance Program offering
Dialogue is going public after seeing rapid growth in 2020. The startup reported its revenues grew by 187 percent, compared to 2019, with $60 million of annual recurring revenue as of the end of January. Dialogue claims to have the most extensive partnership network in the Canadian group insurance industry, flaunting distribution agreements with four of Canada’s top five carriers. This has amounted to around 2.5 million Canadian members and their dependents accessing Dialogue’s virtual platform.
The company has grown both organically and through acquisition. Last year, Dialogue acquired two companies: German Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) services company Argumed Consulting Group and Optima Global Health. The purchases expanded Dialogue’s product offerings into Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services and opportunities in Europe.
Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, Dialogue’s COO, noted last year that Dialogue is aiming to build “a one-stop-shop solution that breaks down the barriers of current care models and empowers people to take control of their health.”
RELATED: Dialogue partners with Canadian insurance company iA Financial Group
Dialogue has raised more than $100 million to date, including a $43 million CAD round led by Canadian life insurance company Sun Life Financial in July 2020. The startup is backed by the likes of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Portag3 Ventures, White Star Capital, and First Ascent Ventures.
The public offering is being conducted through a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial, RBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank and TD Securities. It also includes CIBC World Markets, Desjardins Securities, Canaccord Genuity, iA Private Wealth, INFOR Financial and Laurentian Bank Securities.
Image source Diagram