European tech firms seek to share in U.S. IPO bonanza
Some of Europe’s tech companies are preparing to speed up listing plans early next year to grab some of the billions of dollars of investor cash that has already fuelled a record-breaking run of tech IPOs in the United States this year.
Tech sector valuations, already red hot prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, have hit eye-popping levels as investors bet that trends such as online shopping and food delivery will outlast the crisis.
The United States has attracted most of the listing action, with a record $81 billion of initial public offering (IPO) proceeds this year so far, based on Refinitiv data.
Shares in food delivery startup DoorDash Inc and home rental firm AirBnB surged between 70% and 115% on their first day of trading in New York last week.
In contrast, European IPOs have raised just $19 billion this year, the lowest in at least a decade, partly because there are more attractive alternatives on offer such as private equity deals.
But one equity capital markets banker said his team had around 50 mandates from companies across Europe to look into listings, more than 60% of which were tech or tech-related.
“There is a significant number of late stage private companies in the sector for whom an IPO is a realistic prospect in the short to medium term,” said Claire Keast-Butler, a partner with law firm Cooley.
Bankers say online food delivery business Deliveroo, cyber-security firm Darktrace, e-commerce website musicMagpie, e-retailer Moonpig and reviews site Trustpilot in the UK are among those looking to go public next year.
In Germany, digital used-car trading platform Auto1 and online e-commerce About You are planning Frankfurt listings. In France, several “unicorns”, which have talked about listing in the past, may accelerate their plans.
