Talkspace, a virtual behavioral healthcare company, and Hudson Executive Investment Corp. (“HEIC”) (NASDAQ: HECCU, HEC, HECCW), a special purpose acquisition company SPAC, have completed their previously announced business combination. On June 23, 2021, the combined entity named Talkspace, Inc. (“Talkspace” or the “Company”) and its shares of common stock and warrants began trading on the NASDAQ under the new ticker symbols “TALK” and “TALKW,” respectively.
The opening day price per stock was listed at $8.90, and upon listing, the company had approximately 152 million shares outstanding.
With so many IPOs coming out of Israel these days they may need to rename Startup Nation “Already Started Up Nation.”
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Investopedia explains that a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a company with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing company. Also known as “blank check companies,” SPACs have been around for decades.
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Founded in 2011, Talkspace is a virtual behavioral healthcare company enabled by a purpose-built technology platform. The company boasts that as a digital healthcare company all care is delivered through an” easy-to-use and fully encrypted web and mobile platform, consistent with HIPAA and other state regulatory requirements.”
Today, the need for care feels more urgent than ever, explains Talkspace. When seeking treatment, whether it’s psychiatry or adolescent, individual or couples therapy, Talkspace offers treatment options for almost every need. “With Talkspace, members can send their dedicated therapists text, video, and voice messages anytime, from anywhere, and engage in live video sessions,” says the company. As of May 2021, over 2 million people have used Talkspace, and over 55 million lives were covered for Talkspace through insurance and employee assistance programs or other network behavioral health paid benefit programs.
Oren Frank, Co-founder and CEO of Talkspace, said, “Roni and I are thrilled to complete this transaction and enter the next phase of Talkspace’s journey. As a public company, we believe we will be able to further enhance access to high-quality mental health services, lowering cost and improving clinical outcomes at scale. Mental health is increasingly recognized as an essential need, and we believe Talkspace’s unique ability to treat a wide spectrum of acuities is pivotal to address the vast, unmet and growing demand for behavioral health services in innovative ways. Hudson Executive is an invaluable partner that will bring extensive expertise and relationships to Talkspace and will contribute to advance our mission.”
Douglas L. Braunstein, Founder and Managing Partner of Hudson Executive Capital and incoming Chairman of the Talkspace Board of Directors, commented, “Today marks a very important milestone in digital behavioral health. Talkspace’s technology-enabled operating model combines wide access to high-quality mental health resources with a rigorous, data-driven approach to clinical treatment. We are excited to partner with Oren and his world-class team at Talkspace to democratize access to behavioral health.”