IPO

Altered states will rule in 2025

9 Jan 2025

From President-elect Donald Trump’s whims to volatile capital markets, uncertainty is rising worldwide. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists share predictions for how robotic cars, obesity drug-fueled M&A or a smartphone backlash will take root amid the upheaval.

For China, Hong Kong IPOs start to look urgent

9 Jan 2025

The next wave of offerings in the city will come from mainland-listed companies, including those with global ambitions like CATL. Beijing wants to shore up the hub's status as a financial centre. Narrowing fundraising avenues in the People's Republic may make that an imperative.

How private share sales could kill the tech IPO

8 Jan 2025

Databricks, Stripe and Elon Musk’s $350 bln SpaceX facilitated large exits by insiders without a float. There’s a growing pool of patient capital targeting mature startups. The bigger the trend gets, the more likely it is that profitable unicorns can stay private indefinitely.

CATL’s $5 bln listing future-proofs enviable lead

8 Jan 2025

The world’s largest battery maker plans a Hong Kong share sale to fund factories in Europe and beyond. Topping up a $22 bln net cash position with a hard currency would insulate its war chest from a weaker Chinese yuan and allow founder Robin Zeng to extend CATL's dominance.

US 7-Eleven IPO will invite more unwanted suitors

6 Jan 2025

Raising $6 bln via a listing of North American assets would help the Ito family trim debt on a Seven & i buyout. But the unit would command a discount to Couche-Tard, its unwanted suitor. That will create a microcosm of the public market struggle the clan is contorting to avoid.

Chinese investment banking will roar back in 2025

20 Dec 2024

In 2024 regulators throttled share sales they feared would worsen a stock rout, triggering a 90% drop in IPO fundraising from a peak in 2021. With markets stabilising, Beijing can open the taps, end the deals drought and get capital to growth-focused firms.

Vivendi’s discount haunts Bollorés post-breakup

17 Dec 2024

The media group split in four to shed a conglomerate valuation penalty. The bits are now collectively worth just 8 bln euros, implying no upside from the move. One lesson is that the discount was always down to the controlling Bolloré clan’s influence rather than the structure.

OpenAI IPO would create the next hot meme stock

16 Dec 2024

Sam Altman’s $157 bln ChatGPT creator looks increasingly like a money pit in need of constant funding. Elon Musk’s Tesla has shown that retail investors can support the stock price of a buzzy brand. An ongoing cleanup of the company’s unusual governance structure would help too.

Private equity bids long goodbye to IPOs

13 Dec 2024

Buyout firms called $130 bln more from fund investors than they handed back between 2022 and early 2024, piling on pressure to return capital. Public markets are an increasingly impractical way to sell large investments quickly. Creative finance commands an ever greater premium.

Delivery Hero investors’ meal is stuck in traffic

13 Dec 2024

Shares in the $9.5 bln online takeaway group have dipped since it sold a $2 bln stake in its Middle East unit through a Dubai IPO. CEO Niklas Östberg can now cut net debt, but many of his businesses still burn cash. A more comprehensive breakup may be the best option on the menu.

ESR take-private throws up Asia exit quandary

13 Dec 2024

A group led by US investors offered to privatise the Asian real estate fund manager for $7 bln. Hong Kong's dismal market and ESR's complex business merits the move, yet backers will find it hard to re-list. Asia offers slim pickings for regional groups with IPO dreams.

Shein IPO is test of UK market discipline

6 Dec 2024

Britain’s financial watchdog may bless the fast-fashion group’s possible $64 bln listing, leaving investors to gauge the risks in its supply chain. Yet passive funds and soft disclosure rules limit shareholders’ ability to price such factors. Better transparency would help.

Bain’s Japan chip IPO is a tough sell

3 Dec 2024

The US private equity firm will list Kioxia six years after leading the memory unit's $18 bln carve-out from Toshiba. The roughly $5 bln equity valuation means poor returns for sellers. And convincing new investors to look past Kioxia's crippling debt pile will be a slog.

Hong Kong regains some lustre amid China’s gloom

22 Nov 2024

Top mainland officials made a rare appearance alongside CEOs like David Solomon at a conference in the city. It's a sign Beijing will lean on Hong Kong more to tap global capital and navigate looming US tariffs. Potential market reforms could benefit the finance hub, too.

China’s new hobbies create a spending mirage

19 Nov 2024

A fad for biking, hiking and the great outdoors has helped companies like $10 bln Amer Sports tempt shoppers. The athletic equipment firm is on track to grow mainland sales by over 40% this year. But consumers’ urge for adventure ultimately bodes ill for most retailers.

Shein margin wobble takes bite out of IPO value

14 Nov 2024

The e-commerce giant’s revenue growth slumped in the first half of 2024, and the net margin fell to 2% per The Information. Even if the business recovers, it creates uncertainty that’s compounded by a protectionist US government. Investors may struggle to see the upside.

Prosus catches a moment of relief in India

13 Nov 2024

The Mumbai listing of Swiggy, one half of a food delivery duopoly, crystallizes gains in a priority market for the $100 bln Dutch tech investor. The stock market debut of the startup is decent but Prosus' other bets in fintech and e-commerce in the country look harder to monetise.

Gulf IPO may be Delivery Hero’s only tasty morsel

11 Nov 2024

The Frankfurt-listed group is selling 15% of Talabat in Dubai. A potential $13 bln valuation would mean an arm with a third of its sales is worth more than Delivery Hero itself. Yet beyond the Gulf, a value-boosting breakup looks hard given the business overall makes a loss.

India’s stock market has a rising local flavour

6 Nov 2024

Food delivery app Swiggy is taking orders for its $1.3 bln IPO, shrugging off the risk of getting caught in any US election-induced global volatilty. It underscores both an urgency by its backers which include SoftBank and an increasingly domestic ownership of equities.

Vivendi activist’s critique falls on deaf ears

1 Nov 2024

Pushy fund CIAM reckons a planned carveup of the 10-bln-euro media empire favours the controlling Bolloré clan. That’s true. Yet the split at least eases a conglomerate discount. And since voting it down would be a leap into the unknown, investors will probably just stay in line.