We analyzed key aspects of initial public offerings (IPOs) for the 90 U.S. technology and life sciences companies that went public in 2011 and 2012. This inaugural report was developed for our clients and anyone interested in looking deeper into recent IPO activity and exploring trends in the data. Downloading the full report will provide you access to a number of tables and charts that offer a graphical overview of key parameters as well as a sense of recent trends and activity.
Key Findings:
The post-Lehman market peaked in Q2 2011 and Q2 2012 only to slow in Q3 each year due to concerns over the EU sovereign debt crisis and extreme market volatility.
As a result of the market turmoil in the summer of 2011, many IPOs were put on hold and pushed into 2012, setting the stage for a strong start to the year.
2012 was regarded by many as a strong year for technology and life sciences IPOs. Even so, there were fewer deals in 2012 than in 2007 and a fraction of the number in 1998.
Many factors are thought to have contributed to the smaller number of offerings in recent years, including market volatility, the stresses of the financial markets with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other institutions, the increased cost of going public in light of SOX and other enhanced regulatory requirements, fewer underwriters of sub $50M IPOs that were much more prevalent in the 1990's IPO market and the decimalization of the stock market.
Forward looking, the question has become - Is there a strong pipeline heading into Q2 2013 similar to the lead into 2012?