Numerous new IPOs across Europe are sparking hopes for a wave of wider public debuts in the region despite continuing private market desires among investors.
Many companies, from fintech to defense and software, have either been emerging recently or are rumoured to be focused on IPOs in Europe.
last week, aumoviofor example, auto parts suppliers and Swiss Marketplace Group, spun from the continent listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, floated their stocks on the Swiss Stock Exchange.
“IPO activity in September is a quarterly standout story, with issuers and private equity viewing the product as a viable exit route in Europe again,” said Phildlake, head of the UK equity capital markets at Bank of America in London.
“We’ve been as busy as we did in the last 18 months,” Drake told CNBC in an email Friday. “IPO dialogue is on the rise, and secondary sold-out activity will continue to be strong.”
Swiss Stock Exchange in Zurich.
Fabriscofini | AFP | Getty Images
Christoph Tonini, CEO of Swiss Marketplace Group, highlighted the potential opportunities for existing shareholders to enter the market.
“The best way to get out of growth or take part in growth is to join a publicly traded company,” Tonini told CNBC. “That’s also why we see all four of our shareholders remain shareholders, but they grow together with us.”
“We’re now with new investors coming and we’re going to provide value creation for them as well,” he added.
The online advertising company priced the stock at 46 Swiss Francs ($57.84) each, valued the company at $5.7 billion. The shares closed on Friday at CHF 49.
Meanwhile, Aumovio began trading at a market capitalization of $4.14 billion for 35 euros ($41.11), with stocks closing the week with more than 39 euros.
Aumovoi’s Frankfurt Rollout has arrived as the Swedish market is set to see two imminent debuts.
Verisure, a Swiss alarm and security company supported by private equity, announced plans for a list of 3.1 billion euros this week at Nasdaq Stockholm.
“We also want to reach a position where leverage levels and balance sheets are thought to support the company in a comfortable, long-term manner in order to pay off the debt,” Larry told CNBC on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Swedish digital banking group Nova has demonstrated its $3.7 billion splash intentions against Stockholm’s blues.
“We’re going to get a little more advertising now. Of course we’ll benefit from both retail products and relationships with the people there, but that clearly gives us access to us and gives us more access to a clearer capital market.
Private vs public
The recent increase in listings has continued during a period of long slowdown in Europe. This is the Asian and US IPO market.
Between January and August this year, North American first public offerings raised $17.7 billion in 153 transactions, while Europe manages just $5.5 billion from the 57 list, according to data from FactSet.
“The levels of IPOs are clearly significantly reduced,” Henrimarku, deputy CEO of Tikehau Capital, told CNBC last week. He contrasted the small number of public offers with a surge in appetite for private assets. “The demand for private assets is increasing, just like with private investors, private wealth and institutions.”
German pharmaceutical businesses Stada and Regional Bank OLB recently cancelled plans on the list and instead chose private sales certainty.
However, Bank of America’s Drake said there is evidence that investors’ perspectives on listings are improving.
The key drivers in this rebound include low volatility and strengthening dollar-based returns on European equity investments due to weakening of greenback and the euro.
As a result, Drake said the activity is on a broad base across the sector.
“What do you currently don’t like about the background of stocks and ECM (stock capital markets)?” he added.
– CNBC’s David Martin, Michael Considin and Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.
