Oura Plans Secondary Sale at 25% Discount to $11B Valuation as Private Markets Tighten

Finnish health technology company Oura, known for its biometric-tracking smart rings, is organizing a tender offer allowing early investors to sell shares at a 25% discount to its Series E valuation of $11 billion, according to Bloomberg sources. The move represents a strategic effort to provide liquidity while avoiding an immediate public offering amid challenging market conditions for hardware startups.

Secondary transactions like this have become increasingly common as the IPO window remains largely closed for tech companies. Oura's tender offer creates a controlled exit path for early backers without forcing a full company valuation reset. The mechanics are straightforward: The company facilitates share purchases from willing sellers (typically early employees or seed investors) to new or existing investors at a predetermined price point below the last funding round's valuation.

This discount reflects several market realities:

1. Hardware Scaling Challenges: Unlike pure software plays, Oura faces material production costs, inventory risks, and supply chain complexities. Its valuation premium assumed mass-market adoption that requires sustained execution.

2. Wearables Market Saturation: With Apple, Samsung, and Google all pushing advanced health tracking features into mainstream devices, standalone wearables face increased competition. Oura's differentiation through advanced sleep and recovery metrics must continually evolve.

3. Later-Stage Investor Caution: Growth investors have become more selective, particularly for companies that raised at peak 2021-2022 valuations. The discount suggests current investors see $8.25B as a more defensible price point than $11B.

The tender offer doesn't necessarily indicate fundamental weakness—Oura reportedly has over 1 million active users and partnerships with entities like the NBA and US Olympic teams. However, it demonstrates how even well-capitalized private companies are adapting to extended private tenures. By providing partial liquidity now, Oura potentially avoids pressure for a down-round or premature IPO.

For the wearable tech sector, this signals that:

• Valuation discipline has intensified, especially for capital-intensive hardware
• Patient capital strategies (staying private 10+ years) require structured liquidity solutions
• Revenue multiples are compressing, with investors scrutinizing unit economics more closely

Oura's last funding round in 2024 included backers like Temasek and J.P. Morgan, valuing it above competitors like Whoop. Whether this tender offer precedes a future fundraising round or eventual public listing remains unclear, but it provides a real-time case study in late-stage private market dynamics. The outcome will offer valuable data points for other hardware/healthtech companies navigating extended private journeys.