Align Technology
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Developer of Invisalign clear, removable appliances for dental misalignment raises $130 mil. from a Jan. 25 initial public offering. Proceeds will go toward scaling up manufacturing at the firm's Santa Clara, California facility, as well as funding sales and marketing activities, including a national direct-to-consumer ad campaign and a physician training program highlighting the benefit of the Invisalign system over conventional metal or ceramic braces. Align claims to have trained more than 5,300 orthodontists and has enrolled an additional 1,000 for a training program that was slated to begin in January. The offering included 10 mil. shares priced at $13 each, with an underwriter over-allotment option for up to an additional 1.5 mil. shares. The issue will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol "ALGN." The offering was led by Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and co-managed by Bear Stearns, Robertson Stephens, and JP Morgan. Align received 510(k) clearance for Invisalign in November 1998 and commenced commercial sales in July 1999 (1"The Gray Sheet" Nov. 20, 2000, p. 17)