The highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of private equity group CVC Capital Partners has signaled that Europe’s IPO market is back on track, according to Euronext CEO Stéphane Boujnah. Speaking with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe”, he added that this trend goes beyond just the successes of its platform but also underscores the competitiveness and attractiveness of the IPO market in continental Europe.
CVC, one of Europe’s largest buyout companies, saw shares jump by around 23% on their trading debut at Amsterdam’s Euronext stock exchange this week after pricing its offering above expectations. The deal is expected to raise between €2bn and €2.3bn ($2.41bn – $2.67bn), making it one of Europe’s largest IPOs in 2021, with strong demand from institutional investors.
The positive response by the market indicates that there has been a comeback for IPO activity on Euronext’s platform this year after a significant drop last year when only 64 equity listings were welcomed compared to 83 in 2019, according to Boujnah. He also highlighted that several high-profile European firms opted instead to go public in the US over the past year.
However, he added: “I think the worst is now over”, commenting positively about their prospectus. When quizzed regarding plans by Irish building materials company CRH last September de-listing from Euronext Dublin and transitioning its primary listing to New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Boujnah stated that any international companies considering an IPO in Europe would look at the Euronext market due to it’s vibrant offerings. He added that their pipeline was incredibly strong, promising numerous listings for months ahead.
Boujnah’s comments come after a challenging year when several high-profile European firms opted instead to go public in New York over 2021 and following Brexit Britain’s chip designer Arm going public in the US last year further fueling the doubts around UK stocks prospects of returning home, making their pipeline highly sought for.
Leave a Reply