IPO Watch Q4 2008
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In this short video, Tom Troubridge, head of the PwC Capital Markets group outlines IPO performance in the 4th quarter of 2008, and offers his opinion on when the IPO markets may start to show some sign of recovery.
European IPO markets suffer a dismal fourth quarter marking a five year low in activity
January 2009
Europe's IPO markets suffered a dismal fourth quarter in 2008, with both value and volume falling markedly from an already poor third quarter, as stock exchanges continued to suffer from the worldwide loss of confidence in the capital markets and global economic crisis. The latest IPO Watch Europe, the PricewaterhouseCoopers survey tracking the volume and value of IPOs around Europe, shows dramatic falls of 96% in the new money raised (from €29,112m in the fourth quarter of 2007 to just €1,238m in fourth quarter of 2008), and of 73% in the number of new listings (64 in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with 233 a year ago). This marks the lowest level of IPO activity recorded since the first quarter of 2003 which saw market confidence heavily hit by events in the Middle East.
The quarter rounded off a very depressed year for Europe which saw a total of 338 IPOs, down 58% from the 813 recorded in 2007, while total offering value in 2008 was €14,241m, down a massive 82% on the €80,367m raised in the previous year. The US exchanges were also in decline but suffered less, with 57 IPOs raising €19,409m, including the Visa Inc IPO in the first quarter of 2008 on the NYSE which raised €11,510m. As a result the US markets moved into first place by offering value in 2008 ahead of both Europe and Greater China.
