Certainly, conditions are starting to get better in the U.S. IPO market (then again, it's pretty easy to see improvements when starting from zero), but the real action is still overseas.
New stats from Ernst & Young LLP show that overall the capital raised in global IPOs during the second quarter was $9.9 billion, a sevenfold increase over the first-quarter figure. It's a lot less than the second quarter of 2008, when 269 IPOs raised $38.2 billion, Ernst & Young notes.
"Recovery is likely to take time and will vary by region," says the firm's global director of IPO initiatives Gil Forer. "The IPO market generally trends the macro-economy, albeit with a time lag."
IPO market recoveries tend to lag economic recoveries by four to six quarters, he added.
Brazil and China accounted for two-thirds of the second-quarter IPO capital raised, thanks in large part to the $3.7 billion IPO of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) division VisaNet, the biggest initial offering so far this year and Brazil's biggest ever. China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd. went public during the quarter as well, raising $1.3 billion. (The Deal Pipeline subscribers can read more about VisaNet
here and China Zhongwang
here.) South Korea represented the most active region for IPOs, with 17 during the quarter.
The U.S. was but a
blip on the radar screen compared with activity in other regions, but the
dozen IPOs that launched here during the quarter do offer a glimmer of hope that domestic exchanges can again become the IPO market leaders.
- Olaf de Senerpont Domis
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