Façade of Stock Exchange Building, Stockholm. Image: Anton Ivanov/Shutterstock
Nasdaq Nordic has emerged as the busiest and most lucrative stock exchange for IPOs in Europe, surpassing London and the Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt.
New research from PwC indicates that European IPO markets raised €28bn in 2016.
Nasdaq Nordic looks set to be Europe’s most active exchange in terms of both value and volume, with three of the top 10 IPOs of the year.
‘Nasdaq Nordic is set to finish the year as Europe’s most active exchange both in terms of value and volume’
– DENNIS O’CONNOR
In London, total IPO proceeds are expected to be down by approximately 60pc compared to this time last year, and volumes down by approximately 35pc.
IPO market struggles in Europe
Overall, 2016 has seen 34 withdrawn/postponed IPOs compared to 61 in 2015.
The Irish Stock Exchange has remained strong during 2016 with a number of listings on the ESM but market conditions will dictate whether AIB will return to the public markets in 2017.
Proceeds from European IPOs are down by half to €28.4bn and volumes are down by a quarter.
Nasdaq Nordic has emerged as the most active exchange in Europe, with €7.7bn raised from 69 IPOs. The largest IPO on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange was Dong Energy which raised €2.3bn.
This was followed by London, where 60 IPOs raised €6.4bn. The largest IPO was medtech player ConvaTec, which raised €1.6bn in a public float.
Germany’s Deutsche Börse was the third most active exchange, with €5bn raised through 11 IPOs. The IPO scene in Germany was dominated by the mega IPO of renewable energy player Innogy which raised €4.5bn.
“In Q4, London saw its largest IPO of the year with ConvaTec raising €1.7bn,” said Denis O’Connor, transaction services partner at PwC Ireland.
“The ConvaTec IPO was not without its obstacles, as there had to be a compromise on price to get a deal done – a recurring theme during the second half of 2016.
“Despite the lower level of IPO volumes in London in 2016, as with previous quarters, AIM has seen healthy activity levels, with a number of new companies set to join the market before the end of the year.
“In continental Europe, Q4 was dominated by the mega IPO of Innogy, the renewable energy spin-off of RWE, which in raising €4.5bn is set to be Europe’s largest of the year.
“Nasdaq Nordic is set to finish the year as Europe’s most active exchange both in terms of value and volume, as the Nordic IPOs benefit from the involvement of cornerstone investors, providing much-needed investor support in uncertain times,” O’Connor said.
