Global IPO issuance failed to deliver a repeat of 2014’s blockbuster year, with volatile equity returns weighing down proceeds, particularly in the Asia Pacific and North American regions, according to a new survey.
Renaissance Capital, the IPO ETF provider, reported that global IPOs raised only $156.5 billion in 2015, down 35% from 2014’s seven-year high. The number of deals fell 25% to 310, with the average deal size remaining unchanged at $233 million.
For the second consecutive year, Asia Pacific was the dominant region with a 44.7% share of all proceeds raised despite a five-month IPO freeze in China’s A-share market. But proceeds fell 25% to $70 billion.
Among the big Asia Pacific deals was the $12 billion triple listing of Japan Post’s bank, insurance, and holding companies in October. China’s IPO market accounted for nine of the 10 best-performing IPOs of 2015, with the Chinese movie theater chain operator Wanda Cinema Line generating the largest return (462.1%).
North American IPO proceeds declined 65% year-over-year to $27.3 billion due to a drop off in issuance from the technology and energy sectors.
Europe’s IPOs ran a close second to Asia Pacific, representing 35.3% of global proceeds raised, due to large privatizations such as Spanish airport operator Aena ($4.8 billion deal), Dutch bank ABN Amro ($3.6 billion), and Italian post office Poste Italiane ($3.4 billion).
For the fourth straight year, financials led all global sectors, accounting for 35.5% of proceeds raised. In addition to Japan Post Bank ($5 billion), large financial IPOs in 2015 included Hong Kong-listed Chinese brokerage firms Huatai Securities ($4.5 billion) and GF Securities ($3.6 billion).
Four U.S.-listed IPOs — Spark Therapeutics, Seres Therapeutics, Shake Shack, and Penumbra — were among the 10 best global performers of 2015, excluding deals from China. But the United States also accounted for half of the 10 worst-performing IPOs of the year, including TerraForm Global, vTv Therapeutics, and Invitae.