With sales of convertible bonds and shares in already-listed companies also nearing pandemic-era levels, the stuttering activity seen last year has evolved into a regular rhythm. Though surpassing 2021βs historic volume isnβt on the horizon yet, confidence is growing that 2024 is the bounce-back year that a slew of would-be public companies have been waiting for.
βA key reason weβve been in a better issuance window in recent months is the healthy engagement from the full investor community,β said Andrew Wetenhall, co-head of Americas ECM at Morgan Stanley. Volume is charting to a pace that feels more like a normal year for issuance on a pre-Covid basis, and sovereign investors, pension funds, long-only investors and hedge funds are all enabling deals to get done, he said.
Elizabeth Reed, global head of equity syndicate at Goldman Sachs Group, sees more balanced valuation discussions happening, with the result reflecting both asset quality and investor feedback.
βSome people like to talk about βde-riskingβ the IPO, but IPOs arenβt risky if you truly understand an asset,β Reed said. Rallying equity markets and relatively low volatility are giving companies like cold storage giant Lineage confidence to push ahead with sizable listings in the second half of the year.
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