Lumexa Imaging raises nearly $463M from successful IPO
Lumexa Imaging has raised nearly $463 million from a successful initial public stock offering.
Investors purchased 25 million shares of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based radiology provider at $18.50 apiece, placing its total value at approximately $1.76 billion. Lumexa is now trading under the ticker symbol LMRI, after company leaders participated in the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony Thursday morning.
“Going public is not a finish line. It’s the beginning of our next chapter,” CEO Caitlin Zulla, MPH, said in prepared remarks Dec. 11. “As a Nasdaq listed company, we will continue executing our strong same-center, organic growth playbook while expanding through de novos, strategic partnerships and joint ventures. This platform also will allow us to invest even more deeply in AI, advanced technologies and innovative tools that streamline workflows, enhance clinical quality and improve our patients’ experience.”
“Lumexa Imaging embodies everything we celebrate at Nasdaq: bold leadership, breakthrough technology and a relentless drive to shape the future,” added Jeff Thomas, Nasdaq’s executive VP and chief revenue officer.
Moody’s upgraded Lumexa’s credit rating on Thursday following news of the successful IPO. The radiology group’s debts include a $250 million revolving credit line expiring in 2030 and $825 million term loan due in 2032. Moody’s estimated Lumexa earned approximately $435 million in net proceeds from the stock offering after subtracting legal, underwriting and other fees.
Lumexa will use the money to pay off at least $370 million of its $1.2 billion in outstanding debts through a refinancing transaction while also adding cash to its balance sheet. The refinancing also extends debt maturities and provides an “upsized” revolving credit line. Lumexa said previously it plans to retain all available IPO funds for the foreseeable future, also using them for “other general corporate purposes.”
“The ratings upgrade reflects the material improvement in credit metrics that will result from Lumexa's repayment of a meaningful portion of outstanding debt and the associated reduction in interest expense," Adam Chaim, Moody's lead analyst for the company, said in a Dec. 11 announcement.
Formerly known as US Radiology Specialists, the company was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between Charlotte Radiology and New York private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. Lumexa believes it is the second largest operator of outpatient imaging centers in the U.S. (after RadNet), with 184 across 13 states (up from just 20 in 2018). It has inked eight joint venture partnerships since launching, building a network of 100,000 referring providers representing over 29,000 physician practices as of 2024. The company has grown through 20 acquisitions and the opening of 41 “de novo,” newly constructed imaging centers.
Lumexa tallied nearly $949 million in revenue last year, a 1.4% uptick from 2023. Its centers are concentrated in Texas, North Carolina and New Jersey, representing about two-thirds of revenues, according to Moody’s. Lumexa’s debt to earnings ratio was approximately 7x as of Sept. 30, with leverage dipping to about 5x following the IPO close.
“The rating is supported by good business diversity as it has both outpatient imaging and radiology physician services integrated in many of its markets,” the ratings agency reported, adding that Lumexa also boasts “alignment of management and physician incentives through a high level of physician ownership and highly variable physician compensation structure.”
Lumexa’s liquidity will be supported by a cash balance of about $46 million from the IPO, positive free cash flow generation, and full access to the $250 million revolving credit line that expires in 2030.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.