Ad Company MediaAlpha Skyrockets 67% On Trading Debut

The shares of MediaAlpha Inc MAX, a technology-powered advertisement and marketing company, skyrocketed 67% during their trading debut on Wednesday.

MediaAlpha is a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd WTM and operates through QL Holdings LLC and its subsidiary QuoteLab LLC.

What Happened: The company raised $175.75 million in its initial public offering on Tuesday, pricing shares at $19 each. Underwriters are entitled to over-allotment options totaling 1,387,500 shares.

The IPO gave it an enterprise valuation of $1.4 billion. MAX shares began trading at $23, recording a 21% increase compared to IPO price.

Earlier this quarter, the tech-powered marketing company led a $210 million debt financing round, partially used for dividend recapitalization. The parent insurance company received $55 million from these proceeds.

Why Does It Matter: Approximately 67.65% of the total offering was issued by MediaAlpha and the balance by the parent company White mountains. With the change in beneficial ownership, White Mountains will continue to hold close to $400 million worth of MAX shares, a 33% controlling interest on a fully diluted basis.

Root Inc ROOT – an auto insurance company also made its trading debut on Wednesday, after raising $724 million in its IPO. However, the ROOT stock price closed flat at the end of the trading session.  

Price Movement: MediaAlpha shares closed 67.68% higher at $31.86 on Wednesday and added another 3.58% higher in the pre-market session Thursday.