The parent of Santa Ana-based dental services company Bright Now Dental Inc. has filed plans to go public and raise up to $144 million in what could be the first major stock offering here since late 2007.
Smile Brands Group Inc., which operates Bright Now and other dental companies, is looking to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
A ticker symbol and offering date haven’t been set yet.
The company had sales of $454 million for the 12 months through September, up 2% from a year earlier.
Smile Brands had an adjusted profit of $54.8 million for the period, up 24% from a year earlier.
The company provides administrative support services to dentists and markets their practices under the Bright Now Dental, Castle Dental and Monarch Dental brands.
Smile Brands runs call centers, handles purchasing, billing and other operations. It serves than 1,100 dentists and hygienists at more than 300 offices.
Los Angeles-based private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. owns 73% of the Smile Brands.
In 2005, Freeman Spogli acquired a majority share of Bright Now from San Francisco-based Gryphon Investors, which still holds a small stake.
Smile Brands is set to test a rebounding national market for public offerings. It could be the first major offering by an Orange County company since late 2007, when Mission Viejo-based nursing home operator Ensign Group Inc. went public, raising $64 million.
Earlier this month, a Santa Ana company announced plans for a much smaller initial public offering.
Shareholders of WeCosign Inc. are looking to sell 3.7 million shares of the company, which plans to list on the low-profile Bulletin Board stock exchange.
The company isn’t selling any shares or gaining any proceeds.
