Nashville, Tennessee-based teledentistry company SmileDirectClub has announced that it has raised $380 million in its first institutional private placement led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). Kleiner Perkins and Spark Capital also participated in this round.
SmileDirectClub was founded in 2014 and is now representing 95% of the doctor-directed at-home invisible aligner industry. The company has helped 300,000 people transform their smiles. SmileDirectClub grew to more than 3,200 employees with 150 SmileShop locations thus far and the company is currently profitable.
“We are very excited with the outcome of our most recent fundraising round. Our mission has always been to provide an affordable and convenient option to anyone who wants to transform their smile. We are excited to continue our growth into new spaces and be given the incredible opportunity to reach even more people with our life-changing service,” said SmileDirectClub co-founder Alex Fenkell. “We can’t wait to see what the future holds and are grateful for the support from our new investors.”
SmileDirectClub, the pioneer of at-home, doctor-directed aligner therapy, today announced the completion of its first institutional private placement of equity capital for a total of $380 million. And SmileDirectClub will be using the funding for innovation, research and development, and international expansion.
“Even among its peer group of unicorns, SmileDirectClub’s growth stands out. Consumers simply love the freedom of getting aligners delivered straight to their home,” added Kleiner Perkins general partner Noah Knauf. “We’re thrilled to partner with the SmileDirectClub team as they offer millions more people an affordable and convenient way to improve their smile.”
This round of funding gave SmileDirectClub a valuation of $3.2 billion. In conjunction with the funding CD&R partner Rick Schnall is joining SmileDirectClub’s Board of Directors. And J.P. Morgan served as the sole placement agent to SmileDirectClub. Adam Phillips, Jonathan Manor, and Karen Lee of Kirkland & Ellis represented CD&R in this round of funding.
“Our investment in SmileDirectClub fits squarely with our focus on backing and helping to build fast-growing, disruptive healthcare businesses that lower the cost of delivery while optimizing patient outcomes,” explained Schnall. “The company is led by a strong, entrepreneurial leadership team, and we believe the business is positioned to be the industry leader with a very compelling customer value proposition, which will create significant and sustainable value going forward.”
