Shifting back to public status is the company's move.
The German stock market has witnessed a surge in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) over the past six months, with a total of 14 companies successfully listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange. This is the highest number of IPOs in a half-year period since records began.
The strong economic recovery and companies' earnings growth are already reflected in these high valuations. Two of the most notable IPOs were by Lab chain Synlab and online fashion retailer AboutYou, each raising over 700 million euros, and the largest IPO in the second quarter was the software provider SUSE, which raised around 1.1 billion euros.
Ten IPOs took place between April and June, a number not seen in a quarter since 20 years ago. Markets are currently at or near their all-time highs, but the stock market performance of newcomers paints a mixed picture.
Despite this success, the environment is showing signs of becoming more challenging, according to Carsten Stäcker, Head of Equity Advisory at PwC Germany. Market volatility and economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath, regulatory and compliance complexities affecting IPO readiness, and investor caution amid geopolitical tensions and economic recovery uncertainties are likely to cause uncertainty in the markets.
Nadja Picard, a partner at PwC Germany, predicts that if markets remain stable, 2021 could be the strongest year for the German IPO market since 2000. Carsten Stäcker shares this optimism, assuming markets remain stable and potential challenges are navigated.
The IPO pipeline in Germany remains well-stocked with potential IPO candidates, with at least ten more companies working to implement their initial listing this year. Online optician Mister Spex and wind and solar park operator Blue Elephant Energy are ready to go for IPOs in July.
Two SPAC companies, 468 SPAC I SE and OboTech Acquisition, debuted in the second quarter, following the first quarter's debut of Lakestar. However, without explicit data or a report from PwC Germany from that time, a precise citation of their forecasted challenges for the German IPO market in the second half of 2021 cannot be provided.
As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how these predicted challenges will impact the German IPO market and whether 2021 will indeed be the strongest year for IPOs since 2000.
- The strong economic recovery and companies' earnings growth have led to a surge in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), with many companies tapping into the finance market, such as Lab chain Synlab, AboutYou, and SUSE, to raise significant funds.
- Despite market optimism for 2021 to be the strongest year for IPOs since 2000, potential challenges like market volatility, economic uncertainty, regulatory complexities, and investor caution might affect the insurance sector and the overall IPO market in the second half of the year.
