If there were any doubts that Wall Street’s long-awaited rebound in initial public offerings is here, they were put to rest this past week.
Seven companies went public over five days that each raised more than $100 million — something that hasn’t happened since November 2021, according to Renaissance Capital. Collectively, IPOs from these companies raised $4.4 billion.
“The pickup is here,” Renaissance Capital director of investment strategies Avery Marquez said in an interview, adding, “Things could change very quickly. Right now, it looks like we’re in for a very active fall.”
The action pushed total proceeds from all traditional IPOs so far this year to $25 billion, according to Dealogic, which is also the highest since 2021.
The new offerings include a Swedish buy now, pay later lender, a blockchain platform that approves mortgages, a Pacific Northwest coffee bar chain, and a crypto exchange started by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
Renaissance isn’t expecting another five-day stretch to match that number of big deals, which is defined as more than $100 billion. Currently, it’s projecting about three to five such IPOs per week for the next two months.
This past week ended with Friday listings from Gemini Space Station (GEMI), the parent company of crypto exchange Gemini; coffee chain Black Rock Coffee Bar (BRCB); transportation software company Via Transportation (VIA); and building efficiency provider Legence (LGN).
Gemini raised $425 million in its IPO. The crypto exchange’s stock was up 18% as of Friday afternoon. Black Rock Coffee Bar, Via, and Legence raised $294 million, $493 million, and $728 million, respectively. Their stocks are up 45%, 3%, and 8%, respectively.
“IPO issuance has exploded post Labor Day,” Bank of America head of Americas equity capital markets Jim Cooney said. He noted that IPO road shows held by senior executives and their bankers are currently the busiest they’ve been since the peak of IPO mania in mid-2021.
Earlier in the past week came public listings from buy now, pay later lender Klarna (KLAR) and Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR), a blockchain platform that offers crypto trading and a marketplace for mortgages.
Figure and Klarna raised $787.5 million and $1.37 billion, respectively, in their public listings. Their stocks were up 7% and down 3%, respectively, as of Friday afternoon.
Mike Cagney, Figure co-founder and former CEO of SoFi Technologies (SOFI), told Yahoo Finance Thursday that the company plans to use the fresh capital “like a weapon” to outcompete rivals.
