IPO Watch Europe - Q1 2007

April 2007

London continued to maintain its position as the number one destination for domestic and international companies seeking Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in Europe, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP quarterly IPO Watch Europe survey, which tracks the volume and value of IPOs on Europe's main stock exchanges. London's Main Market hosted the top five largest IPOs of the quarter (January to March 2007) and all 15 non-European IPOs went to London.

The largest London IPO was by the Irish paper packaging producer, Smurfit Kappa, which raised €1,495m; followed by the largest domestic IPO, namely that of the British retailer Sports Direct International, which raised €1,384m. Two investment companies ranked third and fourth, 3i Infrastructure and BH Marco, raising €1,147m and €773m respectively, while in fifth place came the Russian oil and gas group Integra with €505m. PricewaterhouseCoopers IPO Watch Europe survey includes investment companies for the first time this quarter, along with restatements of the comparison periods of 2006.

For a full analysis read the news release