The global initial public offerings market is showing signs of life after fourth quarter initial IPOs reached 382, their highest level in more than a year after a slowdown from 2022 and 2023 that stretched into 2024.
Those Q4 2024 IPOs launched had an aggregate offering amount of US$47.66 billion ($75.34 billion) – up about 15% in volume and 97% in value on the quarter, according to the latest S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
S&P Global says this was the highest number of transactions since the Q3 2023 and the largest aggregate amount offered since the first quarter of 2022.
In the US, initial public offerings rose modestly in Q4, after increasing in each of the past three quarters. However, S&P Global reports that the total transaction value “retreated to US$8.65 billion from the third quarter’s recent peak of US $11.59 billion”.
Overall, US listings activity accelerated annually, with 139 transactions and US$34.79 billion offered in 2024 – up from 101 transactions and US$16.26 billion raised in 2023.
“Still, the fourth quarter numbers were up from 25 transactions and US$1.99 billion offered in the year-prior quarter,” S&P Global Market Intelligence reports.
“European IPO activity increased in the fourth quarter with 36 transactions and nearly US$4 billion in total offerings, compared with 32 IPO launches and US$780 million in the third quarter,” the S&P Global Market adds.
“However, the 36 IPOs in the fourth quarter represented the fourth-lowest quarterly total over the last three years. For the full year, European IPO transactions decreased to 137 in 2024 from 154 in 2023.
“European IPOs offered US$21.44 billion in 2024, higher than the total offerings of US$17.19 billion in 2023 and US$18 billion in 2022. The combined aggregate amount offered through European IPOs from 2022 to 2024 represented only about 54% of the US$105.71 billion offered in 2021.”
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: S&P Global & Unsplash
