In an unexpected move, the legal data intelligence company Relativity has confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its Class A common stock. While the specifics regarding the number of shares to be offered and the price range remain undisclosed, this event marks a significant moment in the legal tech industry as it potentially becomes the first IPO since 2021 in this sector.
The last time the legal tech industry saw public offerings was in 2021, when three companies went public: e-discovery company DISCO on July 21, business software company Intapp on June 30, and legal help provider LegalZoom also on June 30. Since then, the industry has primarily leaned towards late-stage funding and mergers and acquisitions, like Clio’s $500M Series G funding round last year.
Relativity’s potential IPO follows an announcement earlier this year about a new brand identity, transitioning from its traditional role as an e-discovery company to positioning itself as a broader legal data intelligence company. This shift reflects the evolution of their platform usage, with non-litigation matters now making up more than 55 percent of the data being processed by RelativityOne.
The proposed IPO remains contingent on the conclusion of the SEC’s review process and prevailing market conditions. Notably, in 2021, Relativity received a strategic growth investment from Silver Lake, one of the leading private equity firms, valuing the company at an impressive $3.5 billion.