In the company’s second effort at going public, LegalZoom made its market debut on Wednesday, with shares opening 31% above their offer price. The online legal platform’s stock rose 38 percent, valuing it at almost $7.5 billion. After an initial public offering price of $28, the stock debuted at $36.75 a share. The company raised $700 million by selling 19.1 million shares at that price on Tuesday night. LegalZoom offers legal and compliance services in all 50 states and over 3,000 counties across the United States. On Wednesday, LegalZoom CEO Dan Wernikoff told CNBC, “I’ll just start by stating, you know, our aim is to democratize law.” “The market for legal services is extraordinarily enormous,” he remarked, estimating it to be approximately $50 billion. “When it comes to legal services, only 8% of our services are given online against other categories, such as accountancy, where online solutions are considerably more widely adopted,” he stated. “That’s when we get very enthusiastic about the potential that’s in front of us.” The company had applied for a stock market listing in 2012, but it was withdrawn in January 2014. After a $500 million investment from Francisco Partners and GPI Capital four years later, LegalZoom was valued at $2 billion. Wernikoff told “TechCheck” that the company aims to address customer needs in a cost-effective manner, particularly for small businesses. “There are only a few possibilities available today. “We try to get right in the middle of those two opportunities and use technology to make the expert that much more efficient,” Wernikoff said. “You either have a very low-cost solution that doesn’t provide any guidance, or you have to… pay for an expert and you’re worried about the time you’re spending with the expert.”” LegalZoom is one of many companies that went public on Wednesday, including Didi, a Chinese ride-sharing company, Clear, a biometrics screening company, Taboola, and SentinelOne, a cybersecurity startup. This story was supported by Reuters./n
Read More
