Legence Shares Rise After Volatile IPO Debut Backed by Blackstone
Shares of Legence, the Blackstone-backed engineering and maintenance services provider, saw a volatile debut in New York trading on Friday. The stock initially opened below its $28 offer price but later rebounded, closing at $30.50. This gave the San Jose-based company a market value of about $3.2 billion, according to earlier filings.
Legence’s shares climbed as much as 12% above the IPO price during the session. The performance came after the company raised $728 million on Thursday by selling 26 million shares at $28 each, priced within the marketed range of $25 to $29.
IPO Market Gathers Momentum
The listing comes amid one of the busiest post-Labor Day IPO waves in years. Analysts say the momentum could rival the surge of 2021. While many recent IPOs have posted strong opening-day gains, most of the standout performers have been venture capital-backed companies rather than those owned by private equity.
“Legence comes with significant debt, and recent history shows investors have resisted private equity-backed offerings after weak debuts from companies like SailPoint, NIQ, and McGraw Hill,” said Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO Boutique.
Blackstone acquired Legence in 2020 from Gemspring Capital. The investment giant is now taking it public as part of a wider effort to bring more of its portfolio firms to market. After the IPO, funds managed by Blackstone were expected to hold around 74% of Legence’s voting power.
Focus on Data Centres and Energy Efficiency
Legence specialises in designing and installing systems for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and energy efficiency. It is targeting fast-growing industries that require advanced building solutions, including life sciences and data centres.
“Data centres have been a growing part of our business for several years,” CEO Jeffrey Sprau told Reuters. He noted that demand has risen as hyperscale AI data centres shift from traditional air-cooling to direct liquid-to-chip cooling systems, an area where Legence has strong expertise.
Despite the strong market debut, Legence continues to post losses. In the first half of 2025, the company reported a net loss of $26.5 million on revenue of $1.1 billion. This compared with a loss of $8.8 million on $989.6 million in revenue during the same period in 2024, according to its filings.
with inputs from Reuters