Latest news with #SmileDirectClub
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hinge Health, MNTN IPOs Test Strength of US Listing Rebound
The digital-health and advertising-technology sectors share a rich history of IPO disappointment, making this week's planned debuts of physical therapy platform Hinge Health Inc. and TV ad software firm MNTN Inc. a test of whether the nascent recovery in the US first-time share sale market can keep going. Former initial public offering darlings such as SmileDirectClub, which shut down in 2023 after shares collapsed, and Teladoc Health Inc., whose stock is trading nearly two thirds below its listing price, offer cautionary tales. These wipeouts show the difficulty of technology startups aiming to make health-care cheaper and more efficient winning over investors. In the adtech sector, only a few companies — most notably Trade Desk Inc. — have found lasting success in a digital advertising landscape dominated by Alphabet Inc. 's Google.
Reuters
25-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Invisalign maker agrees to pay $31 million in consumer price-fixing settlement
April 25 (Reuters) - Align Technology (ALGN.O), opens new tab, maker of Invisalign clear teeth aligners, has agreed to pay $31.7 million to resolve a U.S. consumer lawsuit accusing the company of entering a conspiracy that drove up prices at rival SmileDirectClub. A group of consumers filed the proposed class action settlement, opens new tab on Thursday in federal court in San Francisco. The deal requires approval by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Align conspired with rival SmileDirectClub to not enter the direct-to-consumer market for teeth aligners, allowing SmileDirectClub to charge artificially higher prices. Chhabria has twice rejected earlier proposed settlements in the lawsuit, most recently in February. The judge had said then that a provision of the settlement providing $300 coupons for consumers to buy Invisalign products would only strengthen its position as an alleged illegal monopolist. Thursday's renewed proposal is all cash and does not contain a coupon component, the consumers' lawyers told Chhabria. They also said the settlement amount was higher than the plaintiffs were prepared to settle for during prior negotiations. Align Technology and lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Align has denied any wrongdoing. SmileDirectClub was not a defendant. There are about 230,000 members of the class — and potentially 1.4 million overall — who purchased aligners from SmileDirectClub, the plaintiffs lawyers told the court. SmileDirectClub shut down in December 2023, after filing for U.S. bankruptcy protection. The plaintiffs said the settlement fund was about 17% of an estimated $181 million in damages for the class. They said the percentage was comparable with other settlements in antitrust cases that won approval in the Northern California federal court. The consumers' lawyers said they would seek up to about $8 million, or 25% of the settlement fund, for legal fees. The attorneys said they had devoted more than 9,500 hours to the litigation so far. The case is Snow v. Align Technology Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:21-cv-03269-VC. For plaintiffs: Steve Berman and Rio Pierce of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro For Align: Karma Giulianelli and Mark Levine of Bartlit Beck, and James Pearl and Thomas Counts of Paul Hastings Read more: US judge blocks Invisalign maker's price-fixing settlement Invisalign maker reaches $27.5 million settlement of consumer antitrust lawsuit
