Jessica Alba-backed Honest Co targets over $1.5 billion valuation in U.S. IPO

[April 26, 2021]  (Reuters) -Honest Co, a consumer goods company founded by actress Jessica Alba, said on Monday it was aiming for a valuation of over $1.5 billion in its initial public offering in the United States.

Actress Jessica Alba, co-founder of The Honest Company, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt event in Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Alba, known for her roles in film "Fantastic Four" and TV series "Dark Angel", in 2011 co-founded Honest, which touts its baby products as a safer alternative to those that use synthetic chemicals.

But it came under the scanner in 2016, when a lawsuit said its products contained a harsh chemical it had pledged to avoid.

Honest then reached https://reut.rs/3cChqzw a $7.35 million settlement for wrongly labelling ingredients in some products as natural, plant-based or chemical free.

The Los Angeles-based company, which plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol "HNST", said it was offering around 25.8 million shares at a price between $14 and $17 each.

Honest would receive around $110 million at the upper end of the range, excluding proceeds from shares offered by stockholders.

The firm's move to tap into the red-hot IPO market comes as it plans to strengthen its online business and bolster its presence in international markets.

Morgan Stanley, Jefferies and J.P. Morgan are among the lead underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shinjini Ganguli)

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