In the third quarter of 2024, global IPO markets raised a total of USD 77.6 billion through 870 deals. This represents a 23% drop in funds raised and an 11% drop in the number of deals compared to the same period last year. US stock exchanges continue to dominate the global market in terms of funds raised, accounting for a third of global IPO proceeds.

The year 2023 was a relatively poor year in terms of IPOs, following the post-pandemic record. Thus, 2021 holds the record, with 2,682 IPOs and $608 billion raised over the year.

United States

The United States has seen a few major IPOs, although many are eagerly awaiting SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company. At the same time, Chinese IPOs in the US are becoming rarer due to deteriorating geopolitical relations between Washington and Beijing.

Reddit (+48%): the social network, very popular in the USA, was very well received by investors. Introduced at $34, the share price now hovers around $71, for a capitalization of $11.78 billion. The platform has never posted a profit since its launch in 2005.

Lineage (-5%): most investors probably never considered adding a company specializing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) for temperature-controlled warehouses to their portfolio, until the arrival of Lineage. At the end of July, the company raised an impressive $4.4 billion for its new IPO, listing 57 million shares at $78 each. The company's capitalization now stands at $17 billion, making it the largest new public offering since semiconductor manufacturer Arm Holdings PLC' s IPO in 2023, which raised $4.8 billion.

On Wall Street, several major IPOs made their debut with impressive valuations: Viking Holding (+45%), a key player in the travel sector, has a market capitalization of $16.3 billion. StandardAero (-4%), a specialist in aircraft engines, has reached a valuation of $11 billion. UL Solution (+51%), a company dedicated to certifying product conformity to safety standards, is valued at $10.2 billion. Amer Sport (+40%), parent company of the Salomon and Peak brands, also successfully completed its IPO.

Europe

After a summer break, the European IPO market is back in the black.

Puig (-20%): The Spanish luxury goods group raised 2.61 billion euros in May. Including the over-allotment option, this amounted to 2.74 billion euros. Puig's IPO thus became the largest in Europe since 2022.

H1 2024 figures:

  • Sales: €2.2 billion
  • EBITDA: 410 MEUR
  • PER: 19.6x
  • Valuation: 11.11 bnEUR

Galderma (+53%): The IPO of this skin care company raised 2.3 billion Swiss francs ($2.7 billion) in March, the largest in Switzerland since Landis + Gyr in 2017.

H1 2024 figures:

  • Sales: 2.2 bnEUR
  • EBITDA: 420 MEUR
  • Valuation: 19.86 billionEUR

CVC Capital Partners (+22%): the private equity group raised €2.3 billion in April, valuing the Dutch firm at around €14 billion.

H1 2024 figures:

  • Sales: 621 M EUR
  • EBITDA: 390 MEUR
  • EBITDA margin: 65
  • PER: 26x

Douglas (-10%): in March, the German cosmetics retailer completed an €890 million IPO, marking its comeback on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Since then, the group has been somewhat disappointing, down 10% on its initial price of 25.50EUR. Moreover, the IPO was overshadowed by the good start made by publisher Springer Nature.

Athens International Airport (-20%) : the January IPO of Greece's largest tourist hub marked the first successful major offering in Europe this year. The company raised 785 million euros, the biggest IPO in Greece for 15 years. Since then, the group has failed to meet expectations and seen its share price fall.

 

Asia

In Asia, there has been a marked slowdown in IPOs by mainland Chinese companies. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, funds raised via IPOs on China's two main stock exchanges, Shanghai and Shenzhen, plunged to $4.01 billion from January to June, compared with $29.80 billion over the same period in 2023.

It seems that Chinese companies are turning to the Hong Kong stock exchange, which offers many advantages, including easier access to international shareholders and a listing in HKD. This reduction in the number of IPOs seems to be encouraging the emergence of higher-quality companies on the market.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia stands out as having raised the most funds, albeit through a large number of relatively modest IPOs.

In mainland China, the biggest REITs raised were Grandtop Yongxing Group (-26%), whose core business is the production of electricity from waste incineration, and SolaX Power Network Technology (-32%), a photovoltaic panel company.

In Hong Kong, the most notable IPO was that of Midea Group (+37%), the world leader in household appliances, which entered the Hong Kong market after several years listed in Shenzhen. This confirms the predominance of the consumer sector in Hong Kong IPOs since 2023, with the second largest IPO achieved by Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial (-27%), a company specializing in the sale of a variety of tea drinks.

HD Hyundai Marine Solution (-37%): formerly Hyundai Global Service Co Ltd, is South Korea's biggest IPO in two years, raising $538 million. The company is currently capitalized at $3.55 billion. It offers maintenance, fuel supply, modernization and ship management services. The company is performing well, with an ROE of 71.59% and a net margin of 10.56%. Currently, 181 vessels are using the solution, representing 36% of HD Hyundai Marine Solution's annual target of 500 vessels.

Thai Credit Bank (-30%): Southeast Asia's biggest IPO is a Thai commercial bank that raised $208 million for a capitalization of $1 billion. Since then, the share price has fallen sharply, with market capitalization stabilizing at around $712 million.