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Sonic Innovations designs and makes hearing aids using its digital signal processing (DSP) technology. It has two primary products: the NATURA hearing aid, which has a conventional fit, and the CONFORMA hearing aid, which fits entirely within the ear canal. Sonic Innovations also sells components of its DSP technology to other hearing aid companies. The US accounts for almost 70% of the company's sales; its products are marketed in Europe through subsidiary Sonic Innovations A/S and in Japan through an agreement with Hoya Healthcare Corporation. Major customers include Starkey Laboratories and Rion Company. The company's investors include Venrock Associates, Accel Partners, and New Enterprise Associates.
Revenue growth Q2Q is good but company has not shown a profit.
Revs 2.1M to 3.2M to 5.6M to 8.4M to 11.5M Dec99
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000--Sonic Innovations,
Inc. (Nasdaq:SNCI) today announced the initial public offering of
3,600,000 shares of common stock at a price of $14.00 per share, all
of which are being offered by Sonic Innovations, Inc.
The shares will trade on the Nasdaq National Market under the
symbol "SNCI". Goldman, Sachs & Co. led the offering, with Deutsche
Banc Alex. Brown and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray co-managing the
offering. The underwriters have been granted a 30-day over allotment
option to purchase up to an additional 540,000 shares of common stock
from the company.
Based in Salt Lake City, Sonic Innovations designs, manufactures
and markets advanced digital hearing aids designed to provide the
highest levels of satisfaction for hearing-impaired consumers.
Capitalizing on a new understanding of human hearing, the company
developed patented digital signal processing (DSP) technologies and
embedded them in the smallest, single-chip DSP platform ever installed
in a hearing aid. This technological advantage helps set a new
standard for consumer satisfaction and delivers more natural sound
than competing hearing aids. Sonic Innovations' products are based on
algorithms and technology developed by Dr. Douglas Chabries, Dean of
the College of Engineering and Technology at Brigham Young University;
Dr. Thomas Stockham, widely regarded as the father of digital
recording; and Dr. Carver Mead, Professor of Computer Science at the
California Institute of Technology. To learn more about Sonic
Innovations, visit www.sonici.com.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been
filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange
Commission. This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell or
the solicitation of an offer to buy the common stock of Sonic
Innovations, Inc., nor shall there be any sale of these securities in
any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale
would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Copies of the final
prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs
& Co., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004, 212/902-1000,
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, One South Street, Baltimore MD 21202,
410/895-2070 and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, 800 Nicolette Mall Suite
800, Minneapolis MN 55402-7020, 612/303-6000.
From the S1
Our technology strategy is to combine a number of distinct technologies,
supported by over 30 patents and patent applications, to produce premium
digital products. The core of our technology is our proprietary digital signal
processing, or DSP, technologies, which are based on a significant advancement
in the understanding of human hearing. Using state-of-the-art chip design
capabilities, we have embedded our proprietary algorithms into the smallest,
single-chip DSP platform available in a hearing aid today. As a result, our
NATURA products are among the smallest hearing aids available, and our CONFORMA
product is the smallest hearing aid available today.
Our CONFORMA product is the first product with the potential to address
all of the major limitations of traditional hearing aids and
significantly alter the way hearing aids are made and sold. CONFORMA, a
programmable completely-in-the-canal model, introduces a new, innovative
hearing aid configuration that delivers a fast, comfortable fit in the
smallest hearing aid available. This small size allows it to be placed
deep in the ear canal, virtually eliminating the stigma of wearing a
hearing aid.
Shares to be offered by Sonic Innovations..... 3,600,000 shares
Shares outstanding after the offering......... 18,914,572 shares
EPS loss per year $ (2.26) $ (3.21) $ (8.23) $ (15.61) $ (12.72) Dec99
These losses and negative cash flows resulted primarily from expenses we
incurred while developing our initial hearing aid products and establishing an
infrastructure to support our business. We have not achieved profitability.
We encounter aggressive competition from over 30 competitors worldwide, many
of which have far greater sales and more extensive financial and business
resources than we have. Our competitors range from some of the world's largest
companies, such as Siemens GmbH, to many specialized firms, such as Starkey Laboratories, Inc. and Oticon A/S, as
well as many smaller hearing aid companies.
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