Renaissance: US IPOs Are Back

We’ve spent much of the fall and winter lamenting the “Death of the IPO” and navel gazing over the new reluctance to go public.  Venture guys were chirping about the glory of the non-public exit and broker-dealers had an apocalyptic 2010 – in part because of low issuance stateside.

The tide appears to have turned according to the IPO mavens at Renaissance Capital…

So far this year there have been 24 US IPOs, an 85% increase from the 13 seen in the first month and a half last year. These IPOs raised $8.1 billion, up materially from $1.9 billion last year, in part due to multi-billion offerings from Nielsen (NLSN) and Kinder Morgan (KMI). After strong IPO issuance in November and December, the IPO market seems to be sustaining the momentum seen at the end of 2010. These are signs that the IPO market is back to normal levels of issuance that is expected in a growing economy.

The increased US activity is occurring at the same time as a slowdown in international IPO activity. So far this year, there have only been nine IPOs outside the US with a deal size above $100 million, down more than 50% from 19 in the comparable period last year. The US share of IPO proceeds stands at nearly 70% year-to-date, a significant jump from the 19% share for all of 2010.

According to the report, tech deals have been the standouts and the pipeline for IPOs ahead is as robust as we’ve seen in awhile.

Source:

US IPOs on Top Again (RenCap)