Geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions plague 2019 IPO landscape; 2020 set to rebound - Seite 2

Americas IPO activity falls amid geopolitical and trade uncertainty

With 213 IPOs raising US$53.9b, deal volumes and proceeds of Americas IPO markets in 2019 fell compared with 2018 numbers by 20% and 10%, respectively. The US remained in the spotlight as the leading source of IPOs in 2019, accounting for 77% of Americas IPOs and 93% by proceeds, including 24 unicorn IPOs.

Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange and Venture Exchange saw 18 IPOs, which raised US$295m, accounting for 8% of Americas IPO deals, while Brazil's B3 exchange posted 5 IPOs over the year, with proceeds of US$2.3b, and Chile posted 2 IPOs, with total proceeds of US1.1b.

Jackie Kelley, EY Americas IPO Leader, says:

"As is typical, the bulk of Americas' IPO activity occurred in the US for 2019. However, there was activity across a range of markets including Brazil, Chile and Canada. Coming into year end, we see momentum in all of these markets. We expect a strong environment across the Americas for business leaders who have the ambition to go public in 2020."

Asia-Pacific IPO markets remain resilient

Asia-Pacific continued to dominate global IPO activity, accounting for seven of the top ten exchanges globally by deal number and five of the top ten exchanges by proceeds in 2019. However, 2019 deal volumes (668 deals) were down by 1% versus 2018 and proceeds (US$89.9b) were down by 8%.

Japanese exchanges posted 89 IPOs in 2019, a 9% decrease in terms of volume compared to 2018, with proceeds of US$3.6b representing an 87% drop compared with 2018 proceeds. Due to the early success of Shanghai's STAR market, Mainland China saw an increase in IPO activity in Q4 2019, which pushed 2019 deals volumes past 2018 by 89% (197 deals) and proceeds by 69% (US$35.7b). The Hong Kong Stock Exchange saw a 25% decline by deal number (154 IPOs), but a 4% increase by proceeds (US$37.9b).

Ringo Choi, EY Asia-Pacific IPO Leader, says:

"Despite the geopolitical and trade uncertainty that prevailed throughout much of the year, Asia-Pacific markets performed reasonably well in 2019. However, as we move into 2020, we expect ongoing geopolitical headwinds and rising investor skepticism to slow IPO activity, particularly in the second half of the year."

EMEIA IPO market buoyed by strong Q4 activity

In EMEIA, deal volumes (234) were down 47% in 2019; however, proceeds (US$54.2b) were up 14% — the only region to see a rise in proceeds in 2019. EMEIA exchanges also remained strong, accounting for three of the top ten exchanges globally by proceeds in 2019 (Saudi Arabia, UK and Germany) and four of global top ten IPOs by proceeds.