WS Audiology, the parent company of Signia and Widex, has postponed its plans to submit its subsidiary, Hear.com, for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a press release from the company.
hear.com N.V. is reportedly the largest online provider of expert, medical-grade hearing care globally. The company says it has postponed plans for its IPO “due to current challenging equity market conditions” and will continue to monitor the market for more stable conditions.
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As reported at the time in Hearing Review, the company filed a registration statement in April 2021 on Form F-1 with the SEC relating to the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of the common shares of hear.com NV. At that time, it made it clear the offering was subject to market conditions, with no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. Hear.com intended to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “HCG.”
Hear.com was founded in 2015 by Marco Vietor and Paul Crusius, who are also the founders of Germany-based audibene. These multi-line online portals are the world’s largest online retailers of hearing aids, and report that their average customer is age 59, or about 10 years younger than the average first-time hearing aid purchaser. Online hearing aids are currently believed to account for only about 4% of the hearing aid market, but the online distribution channel is the fastest growing—and expected to grow even faster with the advent of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in the United States later this year.
For more details and the company’s press release, visit: https://www.hear.com/news/press-releases/hear-com-announces-postponement-of-its-initial-public-offering/
Image: © Andrey Popov
