Despite the US-China trade war and the economic uncertainties (e.g. Brexit and social unrest in Hong Kong) that ran through 2019, the overall IPO markets performed respectably well.
An impressive number of “unicorns” took a leap from private to public markets akin to the upcoming IPOs of December 2020. The value of capital raised via IPOs globally was $229 billion in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A flurry of IPO activity continued to dominate the scene by deal numbers and proceeds in the technology, energy, health care, and industrials sector.
The US remained one of the top IPO markets, with total proceeds of $50 billion from 165 IPOs on the NASDAQ and NYSE combined. Companies like Slack and Uber fell flat while their mega-rivals headlined for giving investors an extraordinary day. But overall, the average IPO size was $219 million, the highest since 2014.
This year is going to be no different. Despite the post-election uncertainty and the market volatility, Wall-Street’s thirst for high growth companies remains unquenchable. To say that December is going to be a momentous month for upcoming IPOs would be an understatement.
Lining up to be the Belle of the Ball by early next year are consumer-focused Silicon Valley unicorns. The upcoming tech IPOs reflect Silicon Valley’s flair to outperform the market even in the face of a global recession. E-commerce, software, and gaming companies have soared through the coronavirus pandemic better than most sectors. Investors poured big bucks into stay-at-home stocks like Zoom for online video conferencing, Peloton for interactive fitness offerings, and Etsy for online retail.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 2020 de Industry Leaders.
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