For the first six months of the year, IPO volume reached 66 deals, raising $9.2 billion versus 14 deals raising $2.3 billion in the same period last year.
While the number of IPOs was up in Q2, the second quarter witnessed a steady decline in the number of completed offerings each successive month, with 17 completed deals in April, followed by 11 in May and 10 IPOs in June. In May and June, 15 IPOs were either withdrawn or postponed, according to PwC.
"Despite recent market hurdles, the IPO pipeline continues to build with an additional 68 companies registering new deals during the second quarter," said Scott Gehsmann, capital markets partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers' Transaction Services. "While recent market swings have posed a short-term threat to companies looking to price their IPOs, the path to a successful IPO is a journey - not a sprint. Interim market challenges provide opportunities to reflect on the adequacy of the issuer's readiness to enter the public equity markets and the post-IPO strategic plan."
Financial sponsors continue to provide leadership in the U.S. IPO market, according to PwC. The second quarter saw 32 of the 39 new deals raising $4.2 billion coming from financial sponsors, representing approximately 84% of total proceeds.
In terms of deal size, PwC expects small and mid-cap deals to continue dominating IPO volume. At the same time, a number of deals with offering proceeds in excess of $1 billion are expected during the second half of 2010. The volume and value of IPOs from foreign private issuers, particularly China, are also expected to grow during the second half of 2010, according to PwC. Foreign private issuers contributed a total of 9 offerings raising $540 million during the second quarter; China leading the pack with 6 offerings.
Twenty NYSE listed IPOs in the second quarter raised $3.4 billion, while the NASDAQ saw 19 IPOs raising $1.6 billion.
The Energy sector led industry deal value with four IPOs raising $1.3 billion dollars, while the Technology sector contributed the majority of deals with 11 IPOs raising $778 million. The Financial Services, Industrial and Services sectors each contributed five deals, raising $1.2 billion, $520 million and $402 million, respectively. PwC maintains that the diversification across industry sectors bodes well for the overall health and long-term viability of the IPO market.
