Fairness opinionsDigital / HealthTech2026

Talkspace acquired by Universal Health Services: fairness opinion by Wells Fargo Securities

Announced March 9, 2026 · One-step merger · All cash · DEFM14A filed April 20, 2026
Digital / HealthTech Telemedicine
Enterprise value
$835M
EV / LTM EBITDA
23.9x
EBITDA $35.0M · 12% margin
EV / LTM revenue
2.85x
revenue $293M
DCF discount rate
11.0%–13.0%
Perpetuity growth

Deal terms

ConsiderationAll cash
Price per share$5.25
Premium
Premium basisOne-day prior unaffected closing stock price of $4.78; four-weeks prior unaffected closing price of $3.88
StructureOne-step merger
Termination fee$32.4M (3.5% of equity)
Reverse termination fee
Go-shopNone
Outside date

Implied value per share by method vs. $5.25 offer

Selected companies — Selected Public Companies Analysis - aggregate implied equity value per share $3.68 – $5.64
Precedent transactions — Selected Precedent Transactions - aggregate implied equity value per share $3.84 – $5.50
Discounted cash flow $3.89 – $5.46
Selected Premiums Paid Analysis (informational) $4.38 – $7.07
Historical Trading Prices (informational) $2.22 – $5.18
Equity Research Price Targets (informational) $5.50 – $9.00

Ranges as disclosed in the banker’s summary of analyses; the red line marks the per-share consideration.

Opinion of Wells Fargo Securities to the target board

Delivered March 6, 2026 · Fee $15.7M ($12.7M contingent on closing), $3.0M on delivery of the opinion

Discounted cash flow assumptions

Discount rate11.0%–13.0%
BasisEstimated weighted average cost of capital for the Company
Terminal valuePerpetuity growth
Perpetuity growth4.0%–5.0%
Exit multiple
Projection period2026E-2030E
Projections usedCompany Forecasts (management), with perpetuity growth rates provided and approved by Company management
Implied value per share$3.89–$5.46

Net present value as of December 31, 2025 of unlevered free cash flows 2026-2030, terminal value via perpetuity growth rates of 4.0%-5.0%, plus estimated tax savings from NOL utilization for fiscal years 2026-2032; adjusted for net cash and fully diluted shares as of February 28, 2026.

Selected public companies (5)

Hinge Health, Inc. · Lifestance Health Group, Inc. · Progyny, Inc. · Teladoc Health, Inc. · Omada Health, Inc.

MultiplePeer lowPeer medianPeer highRange appliedImplied per share
EV / 2026E Revenue1.8x 1.9x–2.8x
EV / 2027E Revenue1.6x 1.7x–2.3x
EV / 2026E Adjusted EBITDA10.1x 17.0x–22.0x
EV / 2027E Adjusted EBITDA8.4x 14.0x–16.0x
Selected Public Companies Analysis - aggregate implied equity value per share $3.68–$5.64

Selected precedent transactions (10)

DateTargetAcquirerMultiple
2025-01Accolade, Inc.Transcarent, Inc.
2024-06Sharecare, Inc.Altaris, LLC
2022-06Convey Health Solutions Holdings, Inc.TPG, Inc.
2022-06LifeWorks, Inc.TELUS Corporation
2022-04Tivity Health, Inc.Titan-Atlas Parent, Inc. (an affiliate of Stone Point Capital)
2022-02SOC Telemed, Inc.Spark Parent, Inc. (an affiliate of Patient Square Capital)
2021-06Newport HealthcareOnex Partners V (an affiliate of Onex Partners)
2021-01Magellan Health, Inc.Centene Corporation
2020-12Refresh Mental HealthKelso Fund X (an affiliate of Kelso & Co)
2020-04LifeStance Health Holdings, Inc.Affiliates of TPG Global, LLC / TPG Capital
MultipleLowMedianHighRange appliedImplied per share
EV / NTM Revenue2.7x 2.0x–3.0x
EV / NTM Adjusted EBITDA15.0x 17.0x–19.0x
Selected Precedent Transactions - aggregate implied equity value per share $3.84–$5.50

Other analyses

AnalysisSummaryImplied per share
Selected Premiums Paid Analysis (informational)Reviewed U.S. target transactions announced January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2025 with transaction values between $200 million and $1 billion; applied 25th-75th percentile one-day premiums of 11%-48% to the $4.78 one-day prior unaffected closing price and four-week premiums of 13%-55% to the $3.88 four-weeks prior unaffected closing price.$4.38–$7.07
Historical Trading Prices (informational)Historical intraday trading prices of Company common stock for the 52-week period through March 5, 2026.$2.22–$5.18
Equity Research Price Targets (informational)Undiscounted sell-side analyst 12-month price targets published by eight equity research analysts through March 5, 2026.$5.50–$9.00

Fee currently estimated at approximately $15.7 million, of which $3.0 million became payable upon delivery of the opinion and the remainder is contingent upon consummation of the merger. Expense reimbursement and indemnification also provided.

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Management projections

Projection yearYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4CAGR
Revenue$354M$401M$450M$497M12.0%
Revenue growth20.8%13.3%12.2%10.4%
EBITDA$56.0M$70.0M$86.0M$100M21.3%
EBITDA growth60.0%25.0%22.9%16.3%
EBITDA margin16%17%19%20%
Implied EV / EBITDA14.9x11.9x9.7x8.3x

Year-1 growth is against LTM at announcement ($293M revenue, $35.0M EBITDA); later years are year over year.

Company management, at the direction of the Board, prepared the "Company Forecasts" for fiscal years 2026-2030, approved by the Transaction Committee on October 23, 2025, on a standalone basis excluding merger effects and synergies. Revenue grows from $293 million in 2026E to $497 million in 2030E; Adjusted EBITDA from $35 million to $100 million; Unlevered Free Cash Flow from $17 million to $63 million (gross profit $123 million to $205 million). Management also provided perpetuity growth rates (4.0%-5.0%) and estimated tax savings from NOL utilization for fiscal 2026-2032. Forecasts for 2026-2028 were shared with UHS and other potentially interested parties.

Process notes

Sole financial advisor Wells Fargo, opinion to the Talkspace Board (oral March 6, 2026, confirmed in writing same date); merger agreement executed March 9, 2026. Board acted through a Transaction Committee that ran an auction process. Significant conflicts disclosed: Douglas L. Braunstein, Chairman of the Talkspace Board, former interim CEO and Founder/Managing Partner of HEC (an ~11% holder), is also a Vice Chairman of Wells Fargo & Company; Wells Fargo held ~5% of Talkspace common stock on a proprietary basis and had prior banking relationships with UHS (~$630,000 in fees, joint bookrunner on UHS debt offering in September 2024). Voting agreements signed by Braunstein (15,650,295 shares, ~9.34%) and Shachar (8,924,653 shares, ~5.33%). Premiums paid, historical trading and equity research analyses were noted for informational purposes only and were not part of the fairness analyses.

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